As a quality real estate agency, we try to assist our clients every way we can. Since the ‘golden visa’ law for Spain was passed, we have been receiving a lot of questions and queries. To help you understand how it works, here’s an overview of the most frequently asked questions about the Spanish residence permit and their answers.
The Spanish residence permit programme or ‘golden visa’ is Spain’s law which aims to stimulate foreign investors to invest in the country. It means that any foreign investor who meets the requirements and invests at least € 500.000 in real estate, is offered a quick and easy way to obtain a Spanish residence permit.
Yes, eventually. Permanent residency is a step by step process, although it has been massively simplified with the coming of the new law. If you plan on investing, the first step is to get a residence visa which is valid for a maximum of one year. After you have obtained this, the second step is to apply for a 2 years residence permit. It is this permit which can be renewed every two years, provided your investment is still in place. If you have spent at least 6 months in Spain every year, after 5 years you can apply for a permanent residence of 5 years and after 10 years you can even go on to apply for the Spanish nationality.
The ‘golden visa’ for Spain is mainly aimed at non-EU investors. If you live outside of the EU, a Spanish residence permit is a very easy way to get free travel rights within the EU and subsequently the Schengen zone, without having to spend too many days actually residing in the country.
Getting a Spanish residence permit offers various benefits. Generally speaking, a lot of red tape is cleared away. Some of the important benefits for real estate owners are:
When you buy real estate and obtain the Spanish residence permit, you will of course be liable to some tax. Which ones and how much depends on how much time you spend in Spain during the year. If you stay in Spain for over 6 months, you’re counted as a Spanish resident and your worldwide assets and income will be taxed in Spain. If you’re in the country for a less amount of time, you only pay taxes on the initial purchase of your real estate and thereafter on the value of your assets in Spain.
As mentioned at the start, if you want to obtain the golden visa for Spain you first have to apply for a one-year Visa residence by making any of the following investments:
You can apply for the initial visa residence at the nearest Spanish Consulate in your country. You can do this yourself, but if you cannot attend personally it is sometimes possible to take care of the matter through a representative, depending on the consulate.
To prove that you have invested €500,000 or more and to complete the application for the Spanish residence permit some documents are required. Make sure you have:
The Spanish investors residence permit has been designed to clear the way for non-EU investors. Therefore, obtaining a golden visa in Spain is taken care of relatively quickly. The visa residence will be solved in 10 working days, after which you can either immediately apply for the 2 years Spanish residence permit or wait until the 1 year visa is expired in order to apply for it.
The 2 years residence permit application has to be presented in an Immigration Office in Madrid and the process takes 20 days.
If you do not fulfil the requirements for a golden visa you should know that there are other ways to access to Spain either as a tourist or to live in Spain. Most non EU foreigners that make real estate investments in Spain are usually granted a multiple-entry tourist visa or if they want to live in Spain a non lucrative residence. Finally, for those that would like to start-up a business you can apply for an entrepreneurs residence.
This is a quick overview of the most frequently asked questions about the Spanish residence permit or Golden Visa in Spain. You can also contact me for a referral to our preferred tax advisor for further questions by phone, or e-mail. If you want to purchase a property seen on this site we can assist you from beginning to end, including obtaining finance, through the legal process, decoration and furnishing, to renting and reselling.
