Golden Visa of Spain. Spanish residence permit for investment. Citizenship
The Spanish Golden Visa Program is a government program that provides investors and entrepreneurs, as well as members of their families, with a residence permit (RP) for investing in the country’s economy.
Advantages of Spanish residence permit through investment
Obtaining a residence permit in Spain under the “Spain Golden Visa” program provides many advantages:
✓ Freedom of movement. With a resident card, you can freely fly to Spain, despite closed borders.
✓ Living in a developed European country with a high standard of living.
✓ There is no requirement for permanent residence in Spain.
✓ Residence permit under the Golden Visa program is easy to renew; you just need to confirm the presence of a minimum investment.
✓ The Spanish Resident Card gives the applicant and his family members the right to work, both for hire and in their own business.
✓ Future for children. Many investors choose this program taking into account the education of their children in prestigious schools, colleges and universities in the EU at prices for residents.
✓ After 5 years of residence, you can apply for permanent residence, after 10 years – Spanish citizenship by investment.
Investment options for obtaining a Spanish residence permit
- ⇒ Real estate (500 thousand € for residential or commercial real estate, or a combination of options. A residence permit when buying real estate in Spain provides that the applicant buys real estate from his own funds, without taking out a mortgage. The real estate can be rented out)
- ⇒ Company shares (from 1 million € in shares of Spanish companies for a period of 5 years)
- ⇒ Bank deposits (from 1 million € deposit in a Spanish bank for 5 years)
- ⇒ Business projects in Spain (Investing in a Spanish business project that will create jobs, and promote technological and/or scientific innovation or have a socio-economic impact).
- ⇒ Government bonds (€2 million for 5 years)
In addition to the investment, the mandatory conditions are:
— Absence of criminal liability for the last 5 years in Spain and in the previous country of residence.
— No refusals of entry into any country in the Schengen zone and into countries with which Spain has signed immigration agreements.
— Absence of illegal entry and stay in Spain.
— Availability of insurance covering services throughout Spain.
— Despite having the right to work in Spain, the investor must have enough financial resources to live in the country without work, providing for himself and his family (having a deposit of 26,400 € for the main investor and 6,600 € for each family member for one year) .
— absence of diseases that pose a risk to public health, according to international WHO data.
Residence permit type and extension
- ⇒ The Spanish Golden Visa residence permit is initially issued for 2 years and is subsequently extended for 5 years.
- ⇒ After 5 years, the investor and his family are eligible to apply for Spanish permanent residence, provided that the minimum investment is maintained.
- ⇒ After obtaining permanent residence, you no longer need to support investments under the Golden Visa.
- ⇒ There are no requirements to reside in Spain to maintain and renew your residence card.
Family members
The application may include:
- – spouse
- – minor children
- – financially dependent children of any age, if they are unmarried and full-time students
- — financially dependent parents of the investor and/or spouse.
Family members included in the application receive a renewable resident card, which expires at the same time as the main applicant’s residence permit.
Important note: Documents for obtaining a “Golden Visa” of Spain are submitted to the Spanish Consulate in the country of primary residence of the applicant. He can provide them personally or through a representative.
All documents provided must be accompanied by an official translation into Spanish. Also, all official documents will need to be legalized or apostilled.
What are the property taxes in Spain?
When purchasing real estate in Spain on the primary market, you pay a real estate transfer tax of 10%, as well as a stamp duty of 0.5% to 1.5%, depending on the region.
When purchasing real estate on the secondary market, a real estate transfer tax of 6% to 10% is paid. The tax rate depends on the region, for example in Madrid – 6%, in Catalonia and Valencia – 10%.
The annual property tax ranges from 0.4% to 1.1% depending on the cadastral value and location of the property.
Spanish citizenship
You can obtain Spanish citizenship based on your actual residence in the country; or by origin (if your parents are Spanish citizens or at least one of them; or your grandparents are also Spanish citizens); or by marriage to a Spanish citizen.
The most common way to obtain Spanish citizenship is citizenship by length of actual residence in Spain.
Actual residence means that Spain must be the applicant’s main place of residence.
In other words, a foreigner must first obtain a temporary residence permit in Spain, then a permanent residence permit (Spanish permanent residence), and then apply for citizenship.
To do this, the foreign national must have lived in Spain for the following minimum period of time:
- ⇒ General rule for all citizens: 10 years of residence
- ⇒ For persons recognized as refugees in Spain: 5 years
- ⇒ For citizens of Latin America, the Philippines, Guinea, Andorra or Portugal: 2 years
- ⇒ 1 year for persons married to a Spanish citizen, as well as for persons born outside Spain to a father or mother (also born outside Spain), grandfather or grandmother, provided that they were all originally Spanish.
Basic requirements for an applicant for Spanish citizenship:
- ⇒ Residence in Spain for at least 10 years as a general rule, or 1 year for the wives/husbands of a Spanish citizen.
- ⇒ The applicant must be legally present in Spain and the foreigner must have a valid residence permit when submitting the application.
- ⇒ Availability of funds allowing the applicant and his family to reside in Spain.
- ⇒ Confirm a sufficient degree of integration into Spanish society by passing two tests:
— test of knowledge of the Spanish language at a level not lower than A2
— text on constitutional and sociocultural knowledge
- ⇒ No criminal record in the country of origin and Spain
Review period
The review period ranges from 1 to 2 years after filing an application for citizenship. Once you receive a positive decision, you will be required to take an oath in accordance with the Spanish Constitution (“jura de nacionalidad”).
Double citizenship
Spain does not allow dual citizenship (except for some Latin American countries, Andorra, Philippines, Equatorial Guinea and Portugal).
