Investment approach
Golden visa abolished from 3 April 2025: what it means for investors
As of 3 April 2025, Spain no longer grants residence permits for buying property. What this changes in practice for a foreign investor.
As of 3 April 2025, the golden visa no longer exists in Spain: residence permits through investment, including buying property for €500,000 or more, are no longer issued. This does not affect a foreigner's right to buy, renovate and sell property, and the tax treatment of the deal is unchanged too. Applications filed before that date are processed under the previous rules.
What exactly was abolished
The golden visa scheme covered several types of investment: property purchases of €500,000 or more, Spanish government debt of €2 million or more, shares, investment funds and bank deposits of €1 million or more, and business projects. The abolition was enacted by Ley Orgánica 1/2025 of 2 January 2025 (published in the BOE, the Spanish official gazette, on 3 January). It repealed articles 63–67 of Law 14/2013, which governed the visa, and the repeal came into force three months after publication. The official announcement is on the La Moncloa website.
What happens to applications already filed
Applications filed before 3 April 2025 are processed under the rules in force on the date of filing: a procedure already under way is not cancelled retroactively. New applications for residence through property investment are not accepted.
You can still invest
The abolition affects only the route to a residence permit through investment. It does not restrict a foreigner's right to buy, renovate and sell property in Spain. The tax treatment of the deal (ITP, IRNR, plusvalía) is unchanged, whether or not the buyer is seeking residence.
What this means for DNPI investors
For DNPI Capital clients who invest for project profit rather than residence status, the economics of the deal have not changed. If the purchase was meant specifically as a route to residence, alternative visa routes need to be looked into separately. That is outside our remit: it is a question for an immigration lawyer.
Questions and answers
Has the golden visa been abolished throughout Spain or only in certain regions?
Throughout the country. The abolition was introduced by national law (Ley Orgánica 1/2025), not by regional regulation, so there are no exceptions for individual autonomous communities.
Are there any investment-based visa routes left now that the golden visa has gone?
There is no longer a direct equivalent based on buying property. Which visa categories might suit a particular situation is a question for an immigration lawyer; it does not change the economics of a property deal.