Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said a program that allowed non-EU citizens who invested at least €500,000 in Spanish real estate to gain three-year residency would soon be scrapped due to affordability issues.
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Spain is the latest country to reconsider its “golden visa” program, which previously allowed non-EU citizens to gain residency in the country through a cash investment in real estate.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told reporters on Monday that the program allows non-EU citizens who invest at least 500,000 euros (about $541,250) in Spanish real estate to obtain three-year residency rights. The plan will soon be cancelled.
The Prime Minister linked the scheme to the issue of affordable housing in the country, saying in a statement social media posts “Housing is a constitutional right, not just an exercise in speculation.”
“Today, 94 out of every 100 such visas are related to real estate investment… In large cities facing highly stressed markets, it is almost impossible to find decent visas for those who already live, work and pay taxes there. housing,” Sanchez said.
The process of scrapping the scheme will begin at Tuesday’s weekly cabinet meeting, Reuters the report said.
The golden visa program started in 2013. Spain issued nearly 5,000 golden visa licenses from 2013 to November 2022, less than 0.1% of the 4.5 million homes sold during the same period, according to data provided to Spain. Reuters From real estate website Idealista. During this period, Chinese investors accounted for the majority, followed by Russian investors, According to government officials.
Housing experts say the cancellation of the program is unlikely to have much of an impact on affordable housing in China because of the relatively small proportion of foreign investors.
“It’s a red herring,” said Max Holleran, a lecturer in social policy at the University of Melbourne who has written about the Spain plan. Washington post. “It’s not really going to have much of an impact on house prices.”
Holleran also said he believed the changes to the plan were a “political ploy with a touch of xenophobia.”
Spain’s golden visa is known as one of the most affordable programs of its kind, with an investment threshold of only 500,000 euros. After the three-year residence permit expires, the visa holder can renew it for another five years, after which time he or she can apply for permanent residence. Henry Partners.
The program was originally created to boost the economy during times of economic crisis. In 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine, the European Commission called for the golden visa scheme to be scrapped due to concerns that sanctioned Russian or Belarusian nationals could easily enter the EU.
Other European countries, including Portugal and Ireland, have largely halted or significantly reformed their golden visa programs in recent years. Australia also halted a program earlier this year that would have allowed investors with investments in excess of A$5 million to obtain residence status.
“It has been clear for many years that this visa does not meet the needs of our country and our economy,” Australian Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said in January, according to a report. British Broadcasting Corporation Report.
In the United States, through Eb-5 Investment Immigration ProgramIt stipulates that foreign investors who make a minimum investment of $1.05 million in a commercial enterprise and plan to create or retain 10 permanent, full-time jobs for U.S. workers may apply for permanent residence for themselves, their spouse, and any unmarried children under the age of 21.
The first round of the Eb-5 program was created in 1990 to stimulate the U.S. economy, according to the program’s website.
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