Spain Golden Visa: What Happened, and What to Do Instead…

The Spain Golden Visa ended on 3 April 2025, and Spain no longer accepts new applications under this route. (Urbana, 2025) Buying a property, however expensive, no longer gives you Spanish residency on its own. You can still buy property in Spain as a foreigner with no nationality restrictions. If you already hold a Golden Visa, transitional rules protect your permit and your right to renew it.

This guide is for anyone who has heard about the Golden Visa and wants to know where things actually stand. It is for you if you are American, Canadian, British, a retiree, a remote worker, or a family planning a move to Spain. It covers what changed, what still works, and which visas make sense now that the investment route has closed. Many online articles still describe the old rules as if they were current. They are not, and that gap is causing real confusion for buyers.

I have lived in Spain for more than 30 years and have spent over 15 of them helping international families relocate here. I watched this change happen in real time, including with clients who were partway through a Golden Visa application when the rules shifted.

Quick Answers

Is the Spain Golden Visa still available in 2026? No. Spain stopped accepting new applications on 3 April 2025, and there is no indication that the investment route will return.

When did the Spanish Golden Visa end? The closing law, Organic Law 1/2025, was published on 3 January 2025 and took effect three months later, on 3 April 2025. (Ley Orgánica)

Can foreigners still buy property in Spain? Yes. Anyone of any nationality can still buy property in Spain. It simply no longer comes with a residency permit attached.

Can existing Golden Visa holders renew? Yes, in most cases. Permits already issued remain valid for their original term, and renewals are assessed under the rules that applied when the visa was first granted.

What visa should I apply for now? Most people who would previously have used the Golden Visa now look at the Non-Lucrative Visa, the Digital Nomad Visa, or the Entrepreneur Visa. Which one fits depends on whether your income comes from work, from a pension or investments, or from a new business.

What Was the Spain Golden Visa?

The Golden Visa was introduced under Law 14/2013, as part of a package designed to attract foreign capital to Spain in the aftermath of the financial crisis. (Ley 14/2013) It allows non-EU nationals to obtain Spanish residency in exchange for a qualifying investment, most commonly a property purchase, without having to work in Spain or spend most of the year here.

It appealed to investors for a simple reason: the physical presence requirements were light. Visiting Spain once a year was generally enough to keep the permit valid, allowing holders to maintain their main life and tax residency elsewhere while retaining a legal foothold and Schengen travel rights in the EU. Spouses and dependent children could usually be included on the same application.

There were four qualifying routes, shown below. All four are now closed to new applicants.

Investment route	Minimum investment	Status in 2026
Property purchase (unencumbered)	€500,000	Closed to new applicants
Spanish company shares, investment funds or bank deposits	€1,000,000	Closed to new applicants
Spanish government bonds	€2,000,000	Closed to new applicants
Business project of general interest to Spain	Assessed case by case, no fixed minimum	Closed to new applicants

By far the most popular route was property purchase, and buyers from China, the United States, Russia and the United Kingdom accounted for the largest share of applicants over the programme’s lifetime.

How the Spain Golden Visa Was Phased Out

Date	What happened
2013	Law 14/2013 introduced the investor residence route, including the €500,000 property-based Golden Visa
2024	The Spanish government announced plans to end the programme as part of a wider housing package
3 January 2025	Organic Law 1/2025 was published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE), starting a three-month countdown
3 April 2025	The Golden Visa officially closed. This is the last date on which a complete application could be submitted
2026	No new applications are being accepted. Existing holders continue under transitional rules, and the Ministry of Inclusion has confirmed the closure is being maintained

Why Did Spain End the Golden Visa?

The main reason given by the Spanish government was housing affordability. Prime Minister (Marrero, 2025) Pedro Sánchez framed the closure as part of a wider package of measures aimed at cooling property prices in high-demand areas, particularly Madrid and Barcelona, arguing that treating housing as a speculative investment was pushing homes out of reach for Spanish residents.

It is worth adding some balance here, because this is a debated point. Golden Visa transactions accounted for a small share of Spain’s total property market. Where the impact was real was concentrated: in specific, high-value neighbourhoods of Madrid and Barcelona, Golden Visa buyers were a visible presence, and that concentration is what drove the political pressure to close the scheme. (Marrero, 2025) The closure also fits a wider European pattern. Ireland closed its investor visa in 2023, the UK closed its equivalent route in 2022, and Portugal and Greece have both restricted their programmes in recent years, so Spain’s decision was not an outlier. (Closure of Immigrant Investor Programme, 2023)

I am not going to take a side on whether this was the right call. What matters for anyone reading this in 2026 is that the political direction points firmly away from reopening the investment route, not towards it.

What Happens to Existing Golden Visa Holders?

If you already hold a Golden Visa, or you submitted a complete application before 3 April 2025, the law includes transitional provisions that protect you.

Permits that were valid on 3 April 2025 remain valid for the full period for which they were originally issued. You do not lose your status because the programme closed. When it comes to renewal, applications are processed under the rules in force on the date your original authorisation was granted, not under the new, tighter rules. In practice, this generally means you need to show that you still hold the qualifying investment, that you continue to meet the general immigration requirements such as a clean criminal record and valid health cover, and that you have visited Spain during the period required by your permit.

Where I would be cautious is in assuming your specific case is automatically covered. Renewal conditions can vary depending on the specific investment route you used, whether your application was still in progress on the cut-off date, and whether anything about your investment has changed since then. If you are a Golden Visa holder approaching renewal, I would strongly recommend having your file reviewed by a qualified Spanish immigration lawyer before you submit anything, rather than assuming the old rules automatically apply to your situation.

Can Foreigners Still Buy Property in Spain?

Yes, without restriction. There is no nationality-based limit on who can buy property in Spain. Americans, Canadians, British and Australian buyers, and non-EU citizens generally, can all purchase Spanish property exactly as before. What has changed is that the purchase itself no longer grants any residency right. Buying a house makes you a property owner, not a resident.

Overseas buyers are still active in the Spanish market. Non-Spanish buyers accounted for a meaningful share of all property purchases over the past two years, and demand along the coast, including the Costa del Sol, has remained strong despite the closure of the Golden Visa. If your plan was always to own a holiday home or a rental property rather than live in Spain full-time, nothing here changes your position.

One thing worth being aware of, because it has caused real confusion, is a proposed additional tax targeting non-EU, non-resident buyers of resale property, announced by the Spanish government in January 2025 as part of the same housing package that ended the Golden Visa. As things stand, this has not been passed into law, has not been debated in a parliamentary vote, and Spain’s minority government does not currently have the votes to pass it. New-build and off-plan property bought directly from a developer would fall outside this proposal in any case, because it is taxed differently from resale property. I would treat this as a proposal to watch rather than a rule that affects your purchase today, and I will flag clearly on this site if that changes.

For the practical side of buying, including the NIE number, notary process, taxes and typical costs, my full guide covers this in detail: Buying Property in Spain. If you would rather have someone handle the search and paperwork with you, our Property Finder service is built for exactly this.

 What Are the Alternatives to the Spain Golden Visa?

There is no single visa that replaces the Golden Visa because the Golden Visa was designed around investment rather than income, work, or business activity. Instead, most people who would previously have applied for a Golden Visa now fall into one of the routes below (Investor visa, 2026), depending on their circumstances.

Non-Lucrative Visa

The Non-Lucrative Visa suits retirees and anyone with steady passive income, such as a pension, rental income, dividends or savings, who does not intend to work in Spain, including remote work. For 2026, the main applicant needs to show income or savings of around €28,800 per year, which is 400% of the current IPREM index, plus roughly €7,200 per additional family member. Health insurance with no co-payments is required, and you will need to spend the majority of the year in Spain to keep the permit valid at renewal.

The advantage is that it is well understood by consulates and relatively predictable if your paperwork is solid. The disadvantage is the absolute ban on work, including remote work for a foreign employer, which catches out more applicants than any other single condition.

Digital Nomad Visa

The Digital Nomad Visa suits remote employees and freelancers whose income comes from clients or employers based outside Spain. For 2026, the income threshold is tied to Spain’s minimum wage rather than the IPREM and currently sits at roughly €2,850 per month, or around €34,200 per year, for the main applicant, with additional amounts required for a spouse and each dependent child. (Giraldo, 2026) No more than 20% of your income can come from Spanish clients.

This visa can be applied for at a Spanish consulate abroad and, in some circumstances, within Spain if you are already legally present. It offers up to five years of residency in total and access to a reduced flat tax rate for the first six years under the Beckham Law regime, which is a real advantage for higher-earning remote workers. (Spain’s Beckham Law) One 2026 change worth knowing: it is no longer possible to switch from a Non-Lucrative Visa to a Digital Nomad Visa from inside Spain. If you think you might want the Digital Nomad route, it is worth applying for it directly rather than starting with the NLV.

For the full breakdown of both routes, including UK-specific and in-Spain application details, see my guides to the Non-Lucrative Visa and the Digital Nomad Visa.

Entrepreneur Visa

The Entrepreneur Visa suits people starting an innovative business in Spain, rather than buying an existing one. There is no fixed minimum investment figure set by law, unlike the old Golden Visa. Instead, your business plan needs a favourable report confirming it is innovative and of economic interest to Spain, usually issued by the relevant government body. (Marrero, 2025) This route requires more preparation than the NLV or DNV because you are building a real case for your business rather than simply proving funds, but it can suit founders who were considering the Golden Visa mainly as a way to run a company from Spain as well.

EU, EEA and Swiss Citizens

If you hold an EU, EEA or Swiss passport, none of this affects you in the same way. Freedom of movement means you can live in Spain without a visa. You will need to register on the EU citizens’ registry once you have been here for more than three months; this is a straightforward administrative step, not an immigration application.

Family Reunification

If a close family member already holds Spanish residency, family reunification may be available once that family member has completed a qualifying period of legal residence, typically one year, and can show they can financially support you. This route has its own income thresholds and paperwork, separate from the visa the sponsoring family member holds.

Moving to Spain in 2026: What Actually Matters Now

For most families and retirees I speak to, the end of the Golden Visa changes the paperwork, not the underlying decision. If your plan was always to live in Spain, rather than to hold an investment-based residency permit while living elsewhere, you were probably always heading towards the Non-Lucrative Visa or the Digital Nomad Visa rather than the Golden Visa.

A few practical points worth having on your radar. Spanish public healthcare becomes available once you are a legal resident and registered with the social security system, though many visa routes require private health insurance for the first year or more. Tax residency in Spain is triggered by spending more than 183 days a year in the country, regardless of which visa you hold, so it is worth understanding your tax position before you commit to a move, not after. (Residencia habitual en territorio español, 2023) Schooling is a real consideration for families, with international schools concentrated in the main coastal areas and Spanish state schools available everywhere, each with very different costs and waiting-list realities. And whether you buy or rent when you first arrive is worth thinking through carefully. I recommend renting for the first six to twelve months while you learn an area to almost every family I work with, even those who are certain they want to buy eventually.

If you are in the early planning stage, my guide to Moving to Spain and our relocation services page both cover these decisions in more depth.

Common Misconceptions About the Spain Golden Visa

“I can’t buy property in Spain anymore.” This is not true. Buying property remains fully legal for foreigners of any nationality. What ended is the automatic residency permit that used to come with a €500,000 purchase, not the ability to buy.

“I need residency before I can buy a house.” Also not true. You can buy property in Spain as a non-resident, and many overseas buyers do exactly this for holiday homes or rental investments without ever applying for residency at all.

“A €500,000 property purchase still qualifies for a visa.” It does not, for anyone applying now. The €500,000 threshold only applies today to people who already hold a Golden Visa issued under the old rules or whose applications were filed before 3 April 2025. (El 3 de abril entra en vigor el fin de las ‘Golden Visa’, 2025)

“The Golden Visa might come back.” I would not plan around this. The political direction in Spain and across several other European countries that have closed similar schemes points firmly towards these programmes remaining closed rather than reopening.

How Move to Malaga Can Help You Relocate

If the Golden Visa was part of your plan and you are now working out what actually applies to you, that is exactly the kind of question we help with every week. We are not immigration lawyers, and for anything involving visa applications or complex residency decisions, we will point you towards a qualified immigration lawyer who can advise on your specific circumstances.

Where we can help directly is with everything around that decision: finding the right area and property for your budget and your family, understanding schools and daily life on the Costa del Sol, and putting together a realistic relocation plan so the move itself goes smoothly. Our orientation tours are a good starting point if you want to see areas in person before committing to anything. If you would like to talk through your specific situation, get in touch, and we will point you in the right direction.

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