Spanish golden visa 2025
What’s on this page?
- Overview of the Golden Visa program
- Main areas of investment
- Applying for a Golden Visa
- Comparing the Golden Visa program to other residency programs
- How to get Spanish citizenship with Golden Visa
- What to Consider When Applying for a Golden Visa
- Spanish Golden Visa - the key to your prosperity
And once again, beautiful Spain welcomes you, where you love to relax and enjoy its nature, the beauty of cities and sea coasts, festivals and holidays, museums and art galleries, delicious food and the hospitality of the native Spaniards. Sooner or later you will think about moving to this country for permanent residence. There are a number of ways to legalize your stay by obtaining a residence permit, and one of the most popular is obtaining a golden visa in Spain.
Overview of the Golden Visa program
In 2013, the Spanish government passed a law according to which citizens of foreign countries outside the European Union can invest finances in the Spanish economy in order to obtain a residence permit. With this law, the Spanish government attracted the attention of foreign investors who want to buy real estate in the country, invest in government securities and shares of Spanish companies, in deposit accounts of Spanish banks, or in innovative business with the creation of new jobs.
The investor, subject to the fulfillment of the requirements of the program, receives a Golden Visa, which gives the right to:
- free residence in Spain and leaving the country at any time for any period;
- work and conduct own business in Spain;
- the possibility of visa-free travel within the Schengen area;
- access to education and healthcare, both in Spain and in other European countries;
- obtaining a residence permit in Spain for the investor's family members - spouse, children under 18 years old, parents who are supported by the investor;
- obtaining Spanish citizenship after 10 years of residence in the country.
Holders of the Golden Visa do not need to provide proof of their education, professional experience or business knowledge, and will not be subject to conditions regarding knowledge of the Spanish language.
There are a number of requirements for an applicant for a Golden Visa:
- age over 18;
- proof of financial investment in the Spanish economy;
- a sufficient amount of financial resources to support themselves and their family members who also came to Spain;
- medical insurance;
- no criminal record within the last 5 years;
- no entry ban to Spain.
Important! To live in Spain, upon obtaining a Golden Visa, an investor must have at least € 28,800 in a Spanish bank account for himself and at least € 7000 for each family member per year.
Main areas of investment
In Spain, Golden Visa requirements imply certain areas of investment of finances for those wishing to obtain such a visa:
Investment option | Amount of investment | Note |
in real estate | from € 500,000 | |
purchase of shares of Spanish companies | from € 1,000,000 | |
purchase of shares in investment funds | from € 1,000,000 | |
to a deposit account in a Spanish bank | from € 1,000,000 | |
purchase of government bonds | from € 2,000,000 | |
business investment | No established amount |
According to statistics in Spain, Golden Visa program is the most popular among those wishing to invest in real estate.
Here you should consider certain intricacies:
- you can invest in both residential and commercial real estate;
- you can purchase one or several properties with a total value of at least € 500,000;
- the investor can be an individual and a company if the investor owns its controlling interest;
- family members of the investor planning to come to Spain do not affect the amount of investment in real estate;
- the investor will be able to rent out or sell the property after obtaining a residence permit;
- the investor is obliged to pay all taxes and fees stipulated during the purchase.
As for investments in business, where there is no established amount, the financing should be directed to the development of new areas in science, technology, business, which should lead to an increase in the number of new jobs, and a significant development of the socio-economic sphere of a particular region or country as a whole.
Applying for a Golden Visa
After you start investing in the Spanish economy in one of the above areas, you can apply for a Golden Visa. That is, to receive it, it is not necessary to complete the investment of the project. You can apply no earlier than three months before your arrival in Spain from your country, by contacting the Spanish embassy or consulate. You can also apply after arriving in Spain.
To obtain a Golden visa, Spain, you need to submit the following documents:
- application for a visa;
- copies of all pages of a valid passport with an official translation into Spanish;
- original and copy of health insurance policy (public or private);
- a document on the absence of a criminal record for the last five years with an official translation into Spanish;
- a document confirming that you have sufficient funds on an account in a Spanish bank, including funds for supporting family members who wish to come to Spain with an investor;
- in case of arrival of family members - a marriage certificate, birth certificates of minor children, a document confirming the dependency of elderly parents with an official translation of all documents into Spanish.
The following package of documents concerns the investment of funds by the investor.
Investment option | Required documents |
in real estate | copies of documents on the acquisition of real estate, in particular, a certificate of ownership of the acquired property |
purchase of shares of Spanish companies | investment document from the Investment Register of the Ministry of Economy of Spain |
purchase of shares in investment funds | financial intermediary's document on your investment registered with the National Securities Market Commission |
to a deposit account in a Spanish bank | document from a bank stating that you are the sole owner of the bank deposit |
purchase of government bonds | a document from the Bank of Spain on investments made by you in government securities |
business investment | a business plan that has been approved by experts from the Economic and Commercial Office of the Geographical Demarcation of Spain |
Comparing the Golden Visa program to other residency programs
When wanting to get a residence permit in Spain, the applicant is faced with a choice which program will be better. If you own a home in Spain and have enough financial resources for a long-term residence in the country, then you can compare two options for achieving the goal:
Indicators | Own housing and financial independence | Golden Visa |
Period of validity of the residence permit | 1 year | 1 year with subsequent renewal |
the requirement for permanent residence in Spain | 180 days continuously (6 months) | not required |
getting a Spanish visa | required | not required |
granting the right to work in Spain | Yes | No |
Other European countries have also adopted programs similar to the Golden Visa. For example, in Portugal, the conditions of the program are somewhat different from the Spanish:
Spanish Golden Visa | Portuguese Golden Visa |
Investment range € 500,000 – € 2,000,000 | Investment range € 250,000 – € 1,000,000 |
Investment in real estate – from € 500,000 | Investment in real estate – from € 350,000 |
purchase of government bonds – from € 2,000,000 | Contribution to the state investment fund – from € 350,000 |
Investments in science – from € 350,000 | |
Investment in art – from € 250,000 |
We can see that the Portuguese program is more flexible and provides more options for investing funds.
How to get Spanish citizenship with Golden Visa
The procedure for issuing a Golden Visa does not take much time - within 20 days from the date of submission, your application must be reviewed and if it is not rejected, then a visa is issued automatically, by default. After receiving the Golden Visa, you must come to Spain, if you have previously stayed in your country, and exchange the visa for a residence permit.
The Golden Visa does not grant Spanish citizenship. With its help, you can get a residence permit for a period of 1 year with the possibility of subsequent extension. To extend the residence permit, there are no requirements for compulsory residence in Spain. After 5 years, you can get a permanent residence permit, and after 10 years - citizenship.
By becoming a Spanish citizen, you get a number of significant benefits, such as:
- the possibility of permanent residence in the country, visa-free travel to and from the country;
- the possibility of visa-free travel to 165 countries of the world;
- the right to work, health care and education;
- state medical insurance;
- living in a country with a high level and life expectancy;
- participation in the political life of the state, etc.
What to Consider When Applying for a Golden Visa
Investments to obtain a Golden Visa cannot be divided. That is, if you plan to make collective investments, then each individual investment must meet the requirements of the program and cannot be less than the established amounts.
Under the Golden Visa program, you cannot take a loan. You must fully invest your own funds in one of the areas. But you can take out a loan for an amount exceeding the boundary threshold of one of the areas of investment. For example, if you purchased real estate under the program for more than € 500,000, then you can take out a loan in excess of this amount.
Funds for investment must be absolutely legal, and the Spanish authorities check the sources of their origin.
In general, in matters of investment, you need to be quite competent, since the purpose of investing in the Spanish economy is not only to obtain a Golden Visa, but also a successful investment of capital. Given the unstable international situation, rising inflation, fluctuations in financial markets, and, as a result, the instability of investment returns, an increasing number of foreign investors choose investing in real estate as the most reliable option. After all, real estate is a tangible asset, unlike, for example, shares of companies or investments in banks.
The real estate market in Spain has many professional agencies that can assist in all matters of purchasing a home or other types of real estate. The WTG Spain group of companies has extensive experience in working with clients from all around the world. With the help of the managers of this agency, thousands of grateful clients have become owners of various properties and received a residence permit in Spain.
Therefore, before choosing one of the options, you should carefully study all of them, and for this, contact specialists who are well versed in matters of financial and investment policy in Spain. Only then can you count on a successful investment of your capital.
Spanish Golden Visa - the key to your prosperity
In Spain, Golden Visa entitles every eligible foreigner to accelerate the process of obtaining a residence permit and successfully invest their capital. The majority (94%) of Golden Visa recipients have invested in real estate. More than half of those who bought real estate are citizens of Russia and China. In general, thanks to the program, the Spanish economy has already received about € 3,000,000,000 of foreign investment.
Spain is a country of happy people because of the climate, healthy food and high level of healthcare. According to scientists, by 2040 Spain will reach the highest life expectancy - 85.8 years. Spaniards are also recognized as the healthiest nation in the world. It is not surprising that a huge number of citizens from different countries dream of moving here.
The Golden Visa Program offers an excellent opportunity to fulfill a long-held dream. But before taking any action, you should carefully study the program, and only then make the right decision.