Golden Visa Spain Removed: Costa Blanca Alternatives

The abolition of the Golden Visa puts an end to a single very specific mechanism: the automatic obtaining of a residence permit in exchange for a real estate investment of at least €500,000. That's all. It does not affect the right to buy a property in Spain, which remains completely open to any foreign buyer, with no limit on amount, nationality or tax residence. Investors who have already obtained their Golden Visa before the entry into force of the reform retain their status and can renew it normally, under the same conditions as before. Applications submitted before the deadline also continue to be processed under the old regime. What changes, in short, is only the automaticity between the purchase of real estate and the residence permit for new applications submitted from this date.

This nuance changes everything in the way an investment project is approached today: real estate is becoming what it has always been elsewhere in Europe, a patrimonial investment and a lifestyle choice, dissociated from the question of legal residence. For many of our clients, who primarily buy a second home or a rental asset with no intention of moving to Spain full-time, this development does not change anything in their project.

For investors who still wish to reside in Spain beyond the 90 days allowed in the Schengen zone, several legal routes remain perfectly accessible, regardless of the property purchase.

The non-lucrative residence visa remains the most natural solution for an investor or retiree. It is aimed at anyone with sufficient and recurring passive income — rents, dividends, pensions, savings — without the intention of carrying out a professional activity on Spanish soil. The required income threshold is reassessed each year on the basis of the IPREM and is, for information purposes, around €2,400 per month for the main applicant, with an additional amount per dependent; This figure must be checked with a specialist lawyer at the time of filing, as it changes annually.

The visa for international teleworkers (often referred to as a "digital nomad visa") is aimed at professionals who continue to work for clients or an employer located outside Spain. It also benefits from an advantageous tax regime, similar to that of the Beckham Law, which is particularly interesting for mobile executives or entrepreneurs.
Finally, for investors whose spouse is a European citizen, the path to family reunification also remains open and often faster.

In any case, these administrative procedures are completely independent of the real estate transaction itself: a client can buy his villa on the Costa Blanca today, then start his residency application according to the schedule and formula that suits him, without any time constraints imposed by his purchase.

The end of the Golden Visa has never been the main driver of foreign demand on the Costa Blanca. Our clients – whether they come from North America, Benelux or Monaco – buy above all for the quality of life, the climate, the legal security of the Spanish investment and rental yields that remain among the most attractive in Mediterranean Europe. This observation is also in line with the one we recently developed about AT residences: investing intelligently today means choosing the right legal and tax structure, more than an administrative shortcut.

At MCB Costa Blanca, each investment project is thought out in its entirety: obtaining the NIE, structuring the purchase, putting you in touch with our tax partners specialising in double taxation, and following up until the handover of the keys – whether the client is looking for a second home, a rental investment or, in the long term, a permanent installation.