Spain is abolishing the "Golden Visa" scheme for foreign investors in real estate.

The Spanish authorities have decided to terminate the "golden visa" program, which allows foreign investors to obtain residency by investing 500,000 euros in real estate.Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez stated that the aim of this move is to combat speculation that has affected many Spanish cities.

According to Sanchez, the government will "cancel the so-called golden visa program, which provides access to residency in exchange for investments in real estate amounting to 500,000 euros."This step will help combat "speculative investments" in real estate that hinder "many young people and families" from accessing housing.

The program was introduced in 2013 during a period of economic hardship as Spain sought to attract foreign capital. It offers investors from non-EU countries a three-year work and residence permit in exchange for an investment of at least 500,000 euros ($542,000) in real estate or a Spanish company.

According to Sanchez, today 94 out of every 100 visas of this kind are related to real estate investments....concentrated in large cities such as Barcelona, Madrid, Malaga, Alicante, Valencia, and the Balearic Islands.

The last few months have shown that several countries in Southern Europe, which created similar programs during the financial crisis, have tightened the rules or completely abandoned the offerings to alleviate housing crises. In February 2023, Portugal ended its golden visa program, which significantly raised housing prices.

Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun said such visas were a "European disgrace" as residence permits should not be granted just because a person has millions. In 2019, Brussels called on member states to take action against such programs, believing they mostly benefit wealthy Chinese and Russian investors, and warned that it could encourage corruption and money laundering.