‘Golden Visa’ scheme by Spain turns out to be a looming success
First launched in 2013, the Golden Visa
scheme by Spain was in rough waters initially, but over a period of few years,
it has attracted €911 million in investments of real estate till the end of
2015. This scheme was started by the Spanish Government to get their economy
back on track following the real estate crash and economic crisis that was seen
in the past decade. Foreign investors are now keen to invest in Spain and over
$500,000 worth of investments from each investor have flown in to the reviving Spanish
economy, getting it back on track. Spain is now one of the most promising
destinations when it comes to investing in Europe.
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| Golden Visa for Spain and the EU |
Until the end of 2015, 1,189 Golden Visas
were granted to foreign investors, which allowed them to purchase properties
across Spain. This scheme was launched to attract non-EU nationals and their
investments towards the luxury
property for sale in Spain, as a similar scheme was launched in countries
like Portugal and Cyprus, which had become highly successful within a short
span of time. The main idea of this scheme was to lure non-EU investors to
invest over €500,000 on properties across the country, which would grant them a
permanent residency
in Spain. Investors found this to be attractive as their residency in Spain
was secured, enabling them to freely travel throughout the EU Schengen Zone,
which was otherwise a tedious and complicated process owing to hurdles in the
bureaucratic and application process.
In this period, the majority of investors
belonged to Russia and China, who contributed to over 65% of the overall
transactions and they preferred investing in the Malaga region, followed by
Barcelona. Of all the Golden Visa transactions that happened, 18% came from
Malaga and Costa del Sol. 35% of the properties under Golden Visa transactions
were purchased by Russians, owing to their strong economy back then. Investors
from China also went aggressive on the Spanish market, investing over €268
million since 2013. Rest of the buyers came from other less preferred locations
such as Middle East, Ukraine and Venezuela.
Costa del Sol was one of the most sought after
locations among investors under the Golden Visa scheme, all thanks to the
cosmopolitan crowd from different nationalities, abundant sunshine and lavish
properties available for sale. Due to this, Spain has attracted investors from
all over the world to buy investment
property in the Costa del Sol.
