In 2013 Spain launched a visa for long-term stay in its territory for foreigners investing in Spain, popularly called as the Golden visa.
Unlike the similar program in Portugal (which we discussed here), Golden visa in Spain can be obtained in a shorter time – the application for this type of residence is considered by the competent authority within 20 days.
Among the investments that can be made for the purpose of obtaining a Golden visa, the following types are available:
– Purchase of real estate in Spain in the amount of EUR 500 000 or more;
– Investment in the authorized capital of a Spanish company or a deposit in a bank in the amount of EUR 1,000,000 or more;
– Investment in government securities in the amount of EUR 2 000 000 or more;
– Business investment in Spain with the creation of jobs (this type of investment has specific requirements, which can be consulted on additional request).
The selected type of investment must be retained for the entire duration of the visa. Changing investment types is not allowed.
The visa can be extended for up to 5 years, during which the applicant must not stay outside of Spain for more than 10 months. For those who are in the process of finding a country of residence that also provides tax benefits, it will be interesting to know that in Spain such benefits can be obtained under the Beckham law regime. The use of this regime allows you to exempt from taxation all foreign income of an individual. Thus, being a tax resident of Spain, a person has the opportunity to be taxed as a non-resident (i.e., only income received in Spain will be taxed).
In order to be able to use this regime, the applicant must:
– not be a tax resident of Spain in the previous 10 years;
– move to Spain or live in Spain under an employment contract where the employer is a Spanish company (if the applicant is a shareholder of this company, his share of ownership should not exceed 25%);
– the application for the Beckham law regime must be submitted within 6 months from the date of entry into Spain.
This regime can be applied for 6 years, what together with Golden visa has a competitive advantage over similar programs in Portugal and Cyprus.
