Spain will abandon the so-called "golden visa" program, which grants the right of residence to foreigners who have made large investments in real estate in the country.
This was announced by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Euractiv writes.
According to him, canceling this program will help make access to affordable housing "a right, not a speculative business."
As part of the program, citizens of non-EU countries who invest at least EUR 500,000 in Spanish real estate - without involving a mortgage loan - receive a special permit that allows them to live and work in the country for three years.
"Today, 94 out of every 100 such visas are related to real estate investment ... in big cities, where the market is very tight and where it is almost impossible to find decent housing for those who already live, work and pay taxes," Sanchez said.
He added that the government will launch the process of winding down the scheme at the weekly cabinet meeting on Tuesday after studying the report submitted by the Ministry of Housing.
According to the government, from the beginning of the "golden visa" scheme in 2013 until November 2022, Spain issued almost 5,000 permits.
Chinese investors top the list, followed by russians, who put in more than EUR 3.4 billion, according to Transparency International's 2023 report, which raises questions about whether authorities investigated the origins of the funds.
The measure is unlikely to affect the property market as less than 0.1% of the 4.5 million houses sold over the period were purchased under the scheme.
It will be recalled that earlier the mass media wrote that Poles began to buy houses in Spain three times more because of the fear of hostilities on the territory of their country.
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