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- +34 648 88 08 96
- info@bocamspain.com
Applying for the Golden Visa is a simple process that offers the possibility to live and work in Spain, together with your family, without the obligation to visit the country more than once a year. This option is often considered the fastest way to obtain residency in Spanish territory, offering convenience and ease. To obtain this visa, you only need to make an investment in Spain of at least 500,000 euros. Everything you need to know about the Golden Visa in Spain will be covered in this article.
The Golden Visa program represents a special form of residency exclusively for non-EU citizens who wish to settle in Spain and make a minimum investment of 500,000 euros.
For many non-Europeans, obtaining residence permits is often a complex and laborious process, with a considerable amount of paperwork, regulations and bureaucracy associated with it. As a result, demand for investment visas in Europe has been steadily increasing, thanks to their promise of speed and simplicity.
Spain has emerged as one of the preferred destinations for the Golden Visa, as reported by the newspaper El País. The numbers speak for themselves: of the approximately 6,000 residence permits issued in the country in 2022, nearly 600 were Golden Visa.
It is clear that Spain continues to issue an increasing number of Golden Visa. With the recent withdrawal of Ireland and Portugal from the program, this is the ideal time to invest, as Spain may also restrict this benefit in the near future.
In Spain, the Golden Visa is aimed at non-EU citizens who wish to reside in the country for a significant investment. This includes individual investors, entrepreneurs and people who wish to settle in Spain to live, work or study, together with their families. It is important to note that the specific requirements may vary depending on the Golden Visa program and the legislation in force in Spain.
There is no doubt that China and Russia are the two nations where this residence permit has gained the most popularity. However, there are also a large number of visa holders from Lebanon, Venezuela and other Latin American countries.
Their main reason? Besides being able to enjoy a property as a home or investment to put your money in Spain, you get the right to a visa that substantially avoids the formalities of the other visas.
It is essential to highlight the special regulation governing the residence permit for investors in this situation. Why? Because we are referring specifically to the Entrepreneur Law 14/2003, as opposed to the general Spanish Immigration Law.
This distinction will be critical to your legal status, especially with regard to the application and subsequent renewals.
Unlike other visas under the general alien rule, the Golden Visa can be applied for immediately from Spain.
In addition, the Golden Visa grants the first permission to reside and work in Spain for a period of two years, instead of just one, as is usually the case with other permits issued under the same Entrepreneurs Law.
Another significant difference is that after five years, a second renewal of the Golden Visa can be applied for, which could eventually lead to permanent residency.
You just need to invest $500,000 in real estate, and this residence permit will be yours. No need to worry about complicated extra requirements.
Unlike the rest, with this Visa you will be granted the right to live and work in Spain for 2 years and renew for +5 (then you can easily get PR).
No need become a tax residence in the country. You just need to visit Spain once per year in order to renew the permit.
You can do a joint application and include both your spouse and children, so they will also get their residency in Spain with just your investment.
It enables you to live and work in Spain legally. This allows us to pinpoint the golden residency as a route to a work visa.
It is the only residency visa that gives you initial permission to enter the nation and reside and work there for two years (the other ones offer only 1).
It offers total freedom of movement throughout the Schengen region, which includes the majority of the member states of the European Union.
It is simple to bring your family to the country. The primary applicant (investor) may ask for the residency of her spouse and children at the same time that she formally submits her application. This is why for those families who desire to start living in Spain, the investor visa is a highly suggested choice.
It is not necessary to be regarded as a resident of Spanish territory in order to receive this visa. Keep in mind that this equates to residing in the nation for longer than 183 days per year. The candidate for the golden visa is only required to visit the nation once a year.
The applicant do not need to be physically in Spain to submit the golden visa application. You can merely appoint a representative to gather the necessary paperwork on his or her behalf.
The investor will have two years to live legally in Spanish territory after receiving his golden visa status.
The applicant has the option to renew this permission for an additional five years once this period has passed.
The expat must show that she still has ownership of the item that served as the focal point of investment—whether it was real estate, stock, or public debt—in order to carry out this procedure.
You also need to have traveled to Spain at least once this year.
Are you open to requesting citizenship through investment? Keep in mind that one of the various options for obtaining Spanish nationality is the golden visa. The investor will become a citizen of Spain after ten years of lawful residence.
You can follow one of the following routes to apply for the golden visa in Spain:
To begin with, purchasing a piece of real estate worth more than € 500,000 qualifies you for an investment visa. But what happens if a number of people or investors buy the property? In that situation, it is important to keep in mind that each person will be factored into the investment calculation. This means that we won't be allowed to apply for the visa if our personal investment to the property is less than € 500,000.
Second, investing in Spanish stock or holding a bank account worth more than €1 million in a Spanish company. You will also be able to use this residency permit after doing that.
Possession of Spanish government debt of at least €2,000,000.
Finally, investing in a business project that will be developed in Spanish territory. The initiative must provide jobs, contribute to the nation's advancement in science and technology, or have a minimal socioeconomic impact, according to these main conditions.
You might be tempted to think that the only expense you’ll have to worry about while applying for your golden visa is the price of the home you’re buying.
But you might be wrong. There could be extra expenses associated with purchasing a house, particularly in terms of taxes.
Whether you are a tax resident or not will determine the precise amount of tax you will be required to pay. However, in essence, you’ll have to pay:
The candidate must fulfill the following requirements in order to be eligible for the golden residency:
Be of legal age (in Spain, this is 18).
No criminal record, either in Spain or anywhere else. The previous five years will serve as the consideration period in this case.
Possessing and demonstrating the ability of financial resources to support the main investor and his family (if they also applied for their residency permits).
Not be a citizen of a nation that is an EU member. As previously stated, this particular residency permit is intended for nationals of non-European union nations who find it more challenging to obtain a visa for Spain.
Access to healthcare coverage in Spain. Either a public insurance plan or a private one can provide this. It won't be possible to use your home country's or travel insurance here. However, even if your plan does not provide full coverage, the application will not be rejected for that reason.
Realize the investment in Spanish real estate (either € 500,000, € 1,000,000, or € 2,000,000 depending on the path chosen), and present the appropriate documentation to support it.
Remember that the golden visa is exempt from the usual immigration rules. A separate statute, the Entrepreneurs law, designed to draw talent and investment to Spain, governs it.
This statute created new employment, residency, and immigration permits. The investment visa is one of them, but there are also others like the entrepreneurial process itself, intra-corporate transfers, and highly qualified work permits.
As a result, the institution in charge of reviewing the application won’t be the immigration office situated where the applicant would be residing. The Large Business Unit, a specialized division, is in charge of reviewing and approving the files in Madrid.
All British nationals seeking a simple route to residency in Spain after Brexit are evaluating their best options.
And in that regard, along with the non-lucrative visa, the golden visa is quickly rising to the top of the list of desired possibilities.
And the cause is straightforward: all of those Britons who previously emigrated to Spain did so under the EU system, which had a really simple and easy immigration process.
Thus, there is currently a need to discover a substitute that provides comparable terms.
For those foreign nationals from the UK, the investor residence permit appears to be the best option. They can apply for this permit straight from Spain, which gives them the ability to work, and the key requirement—a real estate investment—is typically already met because they frequently buy homes.
We saw in the previous section that proving that the investment has been made through the proper document is one of the essential conditions to obtain residency through real estate investment.
What specific documentation support that investment, exactly? Let’s respond to that query in accordance with the path we need to follow:
The certification of domains and fees from the Property Registry must be presented as proof of the acquisition of the property if we wish to apply for the golden visa through an investment in real estate.
When investing in Spanish stocks, you must provide both a certificate from the financial intermediary registered with the Securities Market National Commission for the sale of shares and a statement of the investment from the Investment Register of the Ministry of Economy.
We will require the certificate from the Bank of Spain or the financial institution with which we managed the investment if what we have done is invest in Spanish public debt. We must make it very apparent in that essay how we are the main characters in that purchase.
The certificate given by the financial institution with which we have the arrangement will also be required for investing in bank deposits. It’s important to note that we explicitly state in that document that we are the only owners of the money.
*With regard to the certificate of domains and charges, we’re referring to a record that specifies the property’s owner, her ownership stake, and the purchase price. The competent authority will evaluate whether or not the investment meets the need for this visa through this certificate, as well as whether or not you have asked for a mortgage to be paid.
The following are the top queries about this visa:
The competent authority may require up to 20 days to process all the necessary documentation before communicating the result, which may be favorable or a denial.
Once a favorable resolution is obtained, we have one month to apply for the visa at the Spanish embassy in the investor's country. After receiving approval, it is necessary to travel to Spain to submit the Golden Visa application.
It is crucial to obtain the Foreigner Identity Card (TIE) and register fingerprints at any police station in Spain within that month, as this process cannot be postponed.
At Bocam Spain we help you avoid these tedious procedures, we can take care of everything for you. We are here to guide you every step of the way.
This is a frequently asked question and the answer is no. To obtain the Golden Visa, you must invest at least €500,000 of your own funds, without external financing. However, you do have the option of financing the additional amount.
Let's imagine that the property you wish to buy is worth 1,000,000 euros. To qualify for the Golden Visa, you will need to invest EUR 500,000 immediately. However, you can apply for a mortgage to cover the remaining €500,000.
Of course you can, it's totally possible! In fact, many people opt for this approach. The key here is that your total investment, which must be at least €500,000, includes all the assets purchased. For example, you could buy a home for €450,000 and then supplement it with a garage space or other business for €50,000. In this way, you would qualify for the Golden Visa.
Yes, when applying for this visa as a principal investor, you are allowed to bring your partner and children. But please note that in order to bring your children, they must be under 21 years of age, enrolled in school and financially dependent on you.
Understandably, many people have doubts about this. What if I have already bought a property in the past but now I want to apply for an investor permit? There would be no problem. You can do it without any difficulties. The only prerequisite is that the property was purchased after 2014, when the law regulating the Golden Visa came into force.
For example, if you bought a house in 2017 but decide to apply for the investor visa two years later, you would still be able to obtain residency without complications. However, this would not be possible if the purchase was made in 2013 or earlier.
This is an issue of great importance, since, regardless of your preferences, when you obtain residency in Spain, you will be subject to paying taxes. But which taxes specifically and to what extent?
We will address this question using the most common scenario, since the answer is not simple and varies according to individual circumstances.
People with golden visas generally travel to Spain only once or twice a year, as they do not need to stay more than six months to renew their permits. This excludes them from the category of tax residents (which has implications for the taxes they will eventually have to pay).
Most relevant at this point is whether they choose to rent the property during their absences.
If they do so, they will be required to pay non-resident income tax on the income derived from renting the property. Given their status as non-EU residents, they will be required to file their taxes on a quarterly basis at a rate of 24%.
If they choose not to rent the property and there are no residents in the property, they will still be subject to the same 24% tax. However, this time it will be calculated by multiplying the cadastral value of the property by 2% or 1.1%, depending on whether the cadastral value has been updated in the last ten years or not.
In addition, they will also be obliged to pay wealth tax, which can vary between 0.2% and 2.5% if the total value of all their properties in Spain exceeds 700,000 euros (although this limit may vary depending on the region).
The majority of the doubts and commonly asked questions regarding the golden Spanish visa have already been addressed.
If you have any questions unique to your situation or if something has not been made clear to you… Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us; we’ll be pleased to assist you!
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