Spain Golden Visa

Spain’s Golden Visa is gone for new applicants. The investor route, created under Law 14/2013, was closed after the repeal of Articles 63 to 67 and the official consular guidance now treats it as abolished from April 3, 2025. If you’re looking for a fresh investor-by-investment case, that door is shut.

What the program used to do was straightforward. It gave non-EU, non-EEA and non-Swiss nationals residence in Spain in exchange for a significant capital investment, plus the right to work. It was also one of the few fast-track residence routes that could include family members.

• Real estate: at least €500,000 in unencumbered property.
• Financial investment: €2 million in Spanish public debt or €1 million in shares, investment funds, venture capital funds or bank deposits in Spanish institutions.
• Business project: a project judged to be of general interest, usually because it creates jobs or has a clear economic, scientific or technological impact.

Family coverage was part of the appeal. Spouses or registered partners, dependent children and dependent ascendants could be included on the main investor’s permit, so the visa wasn’t just for solo applicants.

The financial bar was high. Applicants also had to show sufficient means, private health insurance in Spain and a clean criminal record. The official threshold for means was at least 400% of IPREM for the main applicant, plus 100% for each dependent.

There’s one narrow exception left: renewals. Existing holders of Golden Visa, investor visas and investor residence permits can still renew under a transitional regime and the rules for those renewals follow the law that was in force when the original authorization was granted. The official portal doesn’t give a fixed end date for that renewal path, so if you already hold one, you’ll need to check your exact case carefully.

For everyone else, Spain’s current long-stay options are the usual routes now, such as the non-lucrative visa, work permits or study visas. The old Golden Visa isn’t one of them anymore.

Spain’s classic Golden Visa is gone for new applicants. The investment-residence route under Law 14/2013 was abolished in 2025, so there isn’t a current Golden Visa path you can apply for now. If you already held one, you may still be able to renew under transitional rules, but that’s a separate issue from qualifying today.

For context, the old scheme was only open to non-EU, non-EEA and non-Swiss nationals who were at least 18. It also wasn’t a casual paperwork exercise. You had to make a qualifying investment and still show you had enough money to support yourself and any family members joining you.

• Real estate: At least €500,000 in unencumbered property in Spain.
• Public debt: At least €2 million in Spanish government bonds.
• Shares, funds or deposits: At least €1 million in Spanish company shares, Spanish investment or venture capital funds or bank deposits in Spanish financial institutions.
• Business project: A project judged to be of general interest, usually because it created jobs or had clear economic, scientific or tech value.

There was also a maintenance test tied to IPREM. Consular guidance required proof of funds equal to 400% of IPREM for the main applicant, plus 100% of IPREM for each family member. The actual euro amount changed with IPREM, so there was never one fixed cash figure that stayed valid year after year.

Family members could be included, usually a spouse or registered partner, dependent children and dependent ascendants. The old rules also rejected applicants with illegal entry or stay issues, Schengen alerts, criminal records in the past five years or no health insurance accepted in Spain. Those are the kinds of issues that still matter for many Spanish residence permits, even though the Golden Visa itself is dead for new filings.

One last trap: some consulate pages still mention an “investor visa.” Those pages can be stale, so don’t treat them as a live Golden Visa route. For new residency, you’ll need to look at other categories, like the digital nomad visa, non-lucrative visa or entrepreneur visa.

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Spain’s investor route is still the closest thing to the old golden visa, but the real-estate version has been shut to new applicants in practice and consulates don’t all label the file the same way. Some pages still say “investor visa,” others mirror the old golden visa rules, so check the exact consulate or the Large Companies Unit before you move money.

The investment thresholds that still show up on official Spanish consular pages are straightforward, if expensive. They include €2 million in Spanish public debt, €1 million in listed or unlisted Spanish company shares, venture capital funds or bank deposits or €500,000 in unencumbered real estate. There’s also a route for a qualifying business project of public interest.

What you’ll usually need

• National visa application form: Type D, completed and signed for each applicant.
• Passport: Unexpired, with at least 1 year left, at least 2 blank pages and issued within the last 10 years.
• Photo: One recent passport-size color photo on a light background.
• Proof of the investment: The exact document depends on the asset, such as a bank certificate, registry record, intermediary certificate or investment declaration.
• Proof of funds: Enough own money or regular income for you and any family members.
• Criminal record certificate: Usually from the countries where you’ve lived recently, issued no more than 6 months before filing.
• Health insurance: A policy from an insurer authorized to operate in Spain, with full coverage for the stay.
• Proof of consular residence: The consulate may also want appointment confirmation and extra local paperwork.

The money test is where a lot of applicants stumble. Consular pages set the bar at 400% of Spain’s IPREM for the main applicant, plus 100% IPREM for each dependent, but the official pages don’t translate that into dollars and the IPREM figure changes every year.

Health insurance is another place where people get tripped up. A travel policy usually won’t cut it and consulates want a Spanish-authorized plan that covers you for the full stay. Paperwork varies a bit by consulate, so don’t assume the checklist on one office’s site will be accepted everywhere.

Spain’s Golden Visa is closed to new applicants. The investor residence route under Law 14/2013 stopped accepting new applications on 3 April 2025, so the fees below only matter for legacy holders and for the consular descriptions that were still online before the program was abolished.

The biggest headache is that there isn’t one clean, national fee sheet anymore. Spanish consulates published their own “tasas consulares,” and the amount could change with reciprocity rules and exchange rates, so the exact charge depends on which consulate handled the case.

• Consular investor visa fee: Some consulates listed the visa at €80. Others in the United States quoted an amount equivalent to $94 for most nationals and $140 for U.S. citizens, with different rates for Australia, Bangladesh, Canada and the United Kingdom.
• Residence card and renewal fees: After arrival, legacy holders still have to pay standard extranjería fees for the residence card and renewals. The official portals don’t give one fixed Golden Visa-only amount and the exact fee depends on the form and year.
• Translation and legalization: Foreign documents usually need official Spanish translations plus an apostille or consular legalization. The government requires them, but it doesn’t publish a standard price because private translators and foreign authorities set their own rates.
• Health insurance: The policy must be valid in Spain, cover all beneficiaries and have no deductible, no copay and no waiting period. The state doesn’t set a premium, so insurers price it themselves.
• Legal help: Hiring an immigration lawyer or consultant is optional. Useful, yes. Free, no. The government doesn’t publish or regulate those fees.

Dependents add more cost. Each family member usually means another consular fee, another residence-card charge and a higher insurance bill, since the policy has to cover everyone on the application.

The investment thresholds themselves aren't fees, but they’re the real financial barrier. The former Golden Visa required at least €500,000 in unencumbered real estate or €1 million in certain shares, funds or bank deposits or €2 million in Spanish public debt. That’s the part that made the program expensive. The paperwork was just the icing on the bill.

Spain’s classic Golden Visa is no longer open to new applicants. The real-estate route closed on 3 April 2025, so in 2026 there isn’t a fresh application path for a new investor visa. If you already hold one, renewal is still possible under the transition rules.

That means the old how-to only matters as a reference or if you’re renewing an existing investor residence permit. The official process used to split between a consulate abroad for the 1-year investor visa and the Large Companies and Strategic Groups Unit, known as UGE, for the residence authorization in Spain.

What the old application looked like

• Investment threshold: €500,000 in unencumbered Spanish real estate or other qualifying investment routes such as €1 million in shares, deposits or funds or €2 million in public debt.
• Financial means: 400% of IPREM for the main applicant, plus 100% of IPREM for each family member.
• Core documents: passport, long-stay visa form, photos, criminal record certificate, medical certificate, proof of health insurance and proof of funds.
• Fees: Consular fees varied by mission and nationality. One consulate listed the investor visa at the euro equivalent of €80, while another showed different dollar amounts depending on reciprocity rules.

Processing was also split in two. The UGE residence permit had a statutory decision window of 20 working days for complete electronic filings. Consular visa timelines were less predictable and the official pages don’t give a single fixed number that applies everywhere.

How renewals work now

If you already have an investor visa or residence authorization, renewal still runs through UGE and the relevant consular channel, depending on your status. The key condition is simple, though not cheap: you have to keep the qualifying investment in place and keep meeting the other residence requirements.

Investor visas were valid for 1 year. Residence authorizations were typically granted for 2 years and could be renewed for further 2-year periods. If your goal is long-term stay, the route still counted toward Spain’s general 5-year residency track, but it never gave you a shortcut to citizenship.

Spain’s investor visa is closed to new applicants. Organic Law 1/2025 ended the Golden Visa route on 3 April 2025, so if you’re applying now, this isn’t an option anymore.

For people who already had an investor visa or residence authorization in place before that cutoff, the old permit stays valid for the term it was issued for. The consular guidance is pretty clear on that point. Renewal requests are handled under the rules that applied when the original authorization was granted, not under any new framework.

The official consular page says the investor visa was valid for 1 year and covered residence in Spain during that period. It also says the visa application period was tied to a 1-year capital investment and decisions were usually issued in 10 days, though that could stretch if the authorities asked for an interview or extra documents.

• Initial validity: 1 year
• Renewal rule: Old applications are renewed under the regulations in force when the first authorization was granted
• Processing time: Usually 10 days, but longer if the consulate requests more information

The weak spot here is that the official material I found doesn’t give a separate renewal-fee schedule for the abolished Golden Visa route. That’s not because the number is hidden, it’s because the program is gone for new filings and the consular page doesn’t publish a current fee line for renewals on this path.

One more catch, there isn’t a current official government page in the material I checked that spells out a new maximum cumulative stay for the Golden Visa. The source only confirms that existing permits remain in force for their issued duration and that renewal requests follow the old rules. If you already held this status before the cutoff, your next step is to check the exact terms on your original approval, because that’s the framework Spain says still applies.

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Spain’s Golden Visa is an immigration permit, not a tax deal. Act 14/2013 gives investors the right to live in Spain after a qualifying investment, but it doesn't create a special income tax, wealth tax or flat-rate regime for holders. Your tax bill still depends on one question: are you a Spanish tax resident or not?

If you hold the visa but stay in Spain 183 days or less in the calendar year, keep your main economic interests abroad and your spouse and minor children don’t habitually live in Spain, you’re usually treated as a nonresident for tax purposes. That means Spain taxes you only on Spanish-source income, such as rent from a Spanish property or gains tied to Spanish assets. The visa itself doesn’t change that.

If you cross the residency line, Spain taxes you like any other resident. That can happen if you spend more than 183 days in Spain, if your main base of economic activity is in Spain or if your nonseparated spouse and minor dependent children live there. Once you’re resident, Spain generally taxes your worldwide income under personal income tax rules, subject to treaty relief.

What that means in practice

• Nonresident: taxed only on Spanish-source income under nonresident income tax rules.
• Tax resident: taxed on worldwide income under personal income tax rules.
• No automatic perk: holding a Golden Visa doesn’t qualify you for a special investor tax regime.
• Separate regime: the so-called Beckham regime is a different system for qualifying workers who move to Spain. It isn’t tied to the Golden Visa.

Spain also has double-taxation treaties with many countries, so foreign tax paid may be credited depending on the treaty and the type of income. The paperwork can get annoying fast, especially if you have income in more than one country, so don’t assume the visa label will simplify anything.

One more practical point, the Golden Visa route has faced political changes and parts of the investor program, especially property-based investment, have been reported as suspended or abolished in some secondary sources. That may affect immigration status, but it doesn’t change the tax rule. For tax, Spain still looks at residency, not the visa sticker.