Spain to scrap golden visa scheme for housing investors

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced on Monday that his government plans to eliminate the country’s golden visa scheme for investors in housing.

Under the current model, investors who purchase real estate for at least €500,000 ($541,000) can get Spanish residency.

“We are going to take all the measures necessary to guarantee that housing is a right and not a mere speculative business,” he said during a visit to the city of Seville.

The left-wing Spanish leader said that 94% of the visas are granted for housing investments in big cities like Barcelona, Madrid, Malaga, Alicante, Valencia, or Palma de Mallorca where housing is increasingly unaffordable.

"These cities are dealing with a highly stressed housing market, where it is almost impossible for those who live and work in them and pay their taxes every day to find decent housing," said Sanchez.

The golden visa scheme was passed in 2013 by the conservative Popular Party government to bolster the Spanish economy.

Sanchez, however, said the model “drives us toward disaster and horrible inequality" that especially locks young people out of the housing market.

Other investments, such as those in public debt or stock, can also qualify for the investment-for-residency scheme, but Sanchez only referred to modifying the current law to remove housing.

El Pais daily reports that around 10,000 visas have been granted under the program.