What is the Spain Golden Visa or investor visa, how can you get it, and is there a loophole to allow couples to apply with only €500,000 between them? Here’s the latest updated information from official Government sources.

Prefer to watch the video? Click on the pic!   

What is the Golden Visa for Spain?

It’s actually called the Investor Visa, in case you’re having trouble finding it on the government website. But Golden Visa seems to be the name that most people recognise, so that’s what I’m going to call it for the sake of this article.

The Golden Visa is a little different from the other visas that allow you to live in Spain, because, for a start, you don’t actually have to live here and register as a resident. 

That option is available to you, but you can also pop in and out as you please without having to worry about the 90/180 rule.

What if you want to live in Spain?

If you do decide to spend more than half of the year here and call Spain your home, then the visa entitles you and your immediate family to live and work here, and have access to Spanish schools and also the healthcare system, subject to certain conditions. That needs a whole other article so I won’t delve into it here.

What are the options for getting the visa?

There are several options for investing in Spain to get the visa, the one most people have heard of is buying property. That’s the one I’m going to concentrate on here. 

HERE is a link to the government website where you can read about the other ways to invest, or just scroll to the bottom of this article.

Until recently, the government website stated that each investor must spend at least €500,000, so if you’re a couple wanting to put both your names on the house deeds, you’d need the property to be worth twice that amount, a cool €1m. BUT, if you are a couple married in what’s called ‘community of property’, you are allowed to invest just €500,000 between you and still be eligible. 

How much must you spend?

You must invest at least €500,000 on the property, and that should be the actual value of the property not including the taxes and fees you’d expect to pay on top of that.

How much are the fees & taxes? 

They’re around 10-15% depending on the property price and the autonomous region. 

Can you take out a loan or a mortgage to pay for it? 

You must invest at least €500,000 outright, but anything on top of that you are entitled to borrow.

Can your family members get the visa too?

Yes, your spouse or unmarried partner, and your children (and adult children who are still financially dependant on you), and also any dependant parents or grandparents, are all entitled to a visa as a family member of the investor.

Is it €500,000 per person or per couple? 

The answer to this question, as is very frequently the case with questions regarding visas, is a big ‘It Depends!’ 

What is ‘Community of Property’? 

In a nutshell, it means that anything that either of you bought after you were married, and sometimes what you bought before marriage, is regarded as jointly owned by both of you, so whether your house is under one or two names, you both own it. 

So do you both apply for the visa together?

No. Under these circumstances, it would still be only one of you that applies for the visa and the spouse applies as a family member, but both of your names can be on the deeds.

Does that mean there’s a loophole in the law?

It’s not really a loophole, it’s just part of the same law, the question you need answering is this: were YOU married ‘in community of property’? And the answer is…. ‘It Depends!’

It depends on where you were married and under what regime. Community of property regimes can be found in a few countries, including Sweden, Germany, Italy, France, Russia, South Africa, and certain parts of the United States. But be aware, there’s another ‘It Depends!’

There are lots of variations on the regime of Community Property, so if you’re planning on applying for the Golden Visa, check first of all whether you were married under this rule, and if you were, check the details of what falls under the arrangement before you put both of your names on the house deeds, if you haven’t already.

Is the lawyer or specialist you are using to put forward your application aware of this rule or not? 

That’s something worth checking in advance of everything. And if you were married in Community of Property, is your advocate willing to deal with your application, bearing in mind it may be rejected in the first instance and have to be appealed against. This has happened in many cases, and it’s cost applicants time and money in lawyers’ fees to sort out.  

Are people married in Community of Property in the UK?

No, which is why when you ask the question on social media about the Golden Visa, most people will say confidently ‘it’s half a mil per person!’ Chances are they haven’t heard of it. In my experience, a lot of lawyers and specialists haven’t heard of it, or they’re unwilling to take on a case involving this complication because there’s a good chance that the officials in the UK consulates might not have heard of it either.

Are there any other eligibility criteria?

Yes, you must be a non-EU national, be over 18, have health cover in Spain, not be a criminal, and not have been refused a Schengen visa in the past.

Can you buy two properties instead of one?

Yes you can, as long as the total amount comes to at least €500k.

Can you use the value of a property you’ve already bought as part of your investment?

Yes you can, as long as you still own it and it was bought since October 2013 when the rule was created.

How do you apply for the Golden Visa?

There are two ways to apply, first of all you can apply through the Spanish Consulate in your country of residence. This will involve paying a fee for them to process your application, and the validity period of your visa will be 1 year. 

If you want to avoid that quite hefty fee and get a visa that’s valid for 3 years, you can apply in Spain or electronically through UGE, which stands for the Unit for Large Companies and Strategic Collectives. 

That’s the same organisation where you apply for the working visas and the Digital Nomad Visa.  

Click HERE to go to their website.

What documents do you need in order to apply for the Golden Visa? 

Here’s what the consulates need:

1/ The visa application form (download it HERE)

2/ A passport size photograph. Make sure it fits the standard rules!

3/ A valid, unexpired passport – you’ll need the original passport and a photocopy of the biometric data pages. Make sure it’s not over 10 years old and that you have at least a year remaining on the passport. It should also contain at least two blank pages. Note that consulates will hold onto your passport during the application procedure so make sure you provide a pre-paid Special Delivery envelope to get your passport back in the post. 

4/ Documents to prove your investment – in the case of a property purchase, that would be an ownership certificate from the land registry no more than 90 days old, and the deed of sale if the purchase amount isn’t on the certificate. 

5/ Proof of financial means – you’ll need the original and copies of documents proving sufficient financial means of the investor and accompanying family members. This amounts to 400% of IPREM for the applicant and a further 100% IPREM for each additional family member.

6/ A criminal record check certificate showing an absence of criminal activity in the last five years. In the UK this is called the ACRO.

7/ Health Insurance – You’ll need the original and a copy of your certificate of private healthcare insurance. Make sure it’s from a company authorised to operate in Spain.

8/ Proof of residence in the consular district – that means showing proof you live in the catchment area of the consulate you’re applying through. Bank statements and utility bills are good for that.

9/ Proof of identity of your representative if you’re using a lawyer or other specialist to submit your application. They’ll know what to do for that if they’re experienced. 

10/ Payment of the visa fee – check with your local consulate to find out what the fee is and how to pay it. Remember that exchange rates vary all of the time, so the fee might be different every day in your currency. HERE is a link to my recommended broker, Smart Currency Exchange. Use them to buy your property in Spain and support YouTooSpain in the process, without costing you a penny. It’s a win win win with a cherry on top!

If you need a good property lawyer to help you out, send me a comment with your name and phone number (or get in touch via our Facebook page) and I’ll pass that to our trusted partner to get in touch with you straightaway.

Peace & Love, let’s Dance!

Article by Skatz

EXTRA INFORMATION NOT IN THE GOLDEN VISA VIDEO!

*IMPORTANT EXTRA INFO #1 – If you are a citizen of one of the 63 countries who have a visa waiver to the Schengen Area (this includes people from the UK), you can actually forego the Golden Visa application process in your country of residence and go straight to Spain to apply for your resident’s permit.

**IMPORTANT EXTRA INFO #2 – if you apply in Spain, your stay with the resident’s permit lasts for two years. If you apply from the consulate in your country of residence, the visa lasts for a year, then you apply for the resident’s permit, which last for two years. 

Four other kinds of investment and the documents you need

1/ You can invest at least €2m in Spanish Government Debt, in which case you’ll need a certificate from the Bank of Spain or another financial institution. That certificate must be in your name only and be for a period of at least 5 years.

2/ You can invest at least €1m in stocks and shares of a Spanish Company, in which case you’ll need a statement of the investment from the Spanish Registrar of Investments of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.

3/ You can invest at least €1m in quoted shares, in which case you’ll need a certificate of the financial intermediary stating your investment, registered at the Spanish National Stock Market Commission or at the Bank of Spain.

4/ You can invest at least €1m in a bank deposit, in which case all you need is a certificate from the financial institution naming you as the sole owner of the bank deposit.