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Spain Killed the Golden Visa But Left 3 Doors Open · IMI Podcasts

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: In 2025, Spain killed its Golden Visa, but they didn't kill relocation.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: The 500,000 Euro Golden Visa was always just one of several paths into Spain.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: Three alternatives are still open, each leading to permanent residency after five years and citizenship after 10.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: For some individuals, that citizenship timeline can drop to just two years.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: Here are three ways you can move to Spain this year without having to invest, including two that offer an underrated special tax benefit.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: In case you missed the Golden Visa termination timeline broken on IMIDaily.com last year, let's start with why this shift was significant.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Dr.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: Jacinto Solomatiz noted that all three of these alternatives require effective residence of at least six months per year.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: That is a departure from the Golden Visa's famously minimal physical presence obligations.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: Investors purchased real estate and weren't required to spend any time in the country to maintain their visas or to qualify for permanent residency five years later.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez framed the closure as a response to a housing crisis, arguing that the 27,000 properties non-EU residents purchased in 2023 were not bought to live in but to rent out on platforms like Airbnb.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: He has even proposed a 100% tax on property purchases by non-EU non-resident buyers that would make any investor reconsider Spanish real estate.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: The three routes that are still open all require you to actually live in Spain for more than six months a year and become tax resident.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: The entry ticket looks very different than it did a few months ago.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: Instead of a half million euro property purchase, the route to Spanish citizenship requires building a life in Spain, not just a portfolio.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: Let's start with Spain's independent means visa, called the Non Lucrative Visa.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: If you do not work and have no intention to do so, Spain's non-lucrative visa may be your most straightforward option.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: This is essentially Spain's retirement visa, designed for pensioners, passive earners, or anyone who can support themselves without employment.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: And the financial bar is relatively low.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: You just need to show passive income or savings of just under 30,000 euros per year for the main applicant based on 400% of Spain's public income indicator.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: No investment or donation required, but each dependent requires an additional€7,200 annually.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: For a couple and depending on the consulate, the required income can vary a bit higher.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: Qualifying income includes pensions, annuities, rental income from foreign property, social security payments, and investment dividends.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: The key word is simply passive.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: You cannot technically work in Spain on this visa, not even remotely.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: If remote work is your primary income source, the NLV is the wrong visa.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: Spain's immigration authorities drew a clear line between the NLV and the Digital Nomad visa for exactly this reason.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: The visa is initially valid for one year, renewable for two-year periods after that.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: Five years of continuous residence leads to permanent residency eligibility, and citizenship follows the standard 10-year timeline.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: Another critical rule changed in 2025, which will affect your tax situation in Spain.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: The government reinstated a minimum physical presence requirement of 183 days per year to maintain the non-lucrative visa, meaning this residency path requires tax residency in Spain.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: So if you were looking for a residence permit you could hold while living mostly outside the European Union, this is no longer it.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: That option died with the Golden Visa in 2025.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: If you want to stay current on rule changes like these as they happen, IMI Daily covers them all.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: Link to the newsletter is in the description.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: And you can check out your sovereign score while you're at it.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: The Digital Nomad Visa and the Beckham Law.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: Spain launched its digital nomad visa in January 2023 under the country's startup law.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: It targets remote workers employed by foreign companies or self-employed professionals whose clients are predominantly based outside Spain.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: If that describes you, you just need to earn at least around€2,849 per month, that is 200% of Spain's minimum wage, which was raised 3.1% in January 2026.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: You also need a university degree or three years of relevant professional experience, plus private health insurance with no copays.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: If you freelance or are self-employed, at least 80% of your professional activity must serve clients or employers outside Spain.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: If you apply from abroad, the initial visa is valid for one year.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: Once in Spain, you can convert it into a residence permit lasting up to three years, renewable for two more.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: After five continuous years of legal residence, you become eligible for permanent residency.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: But what makes this visa especially attractive?
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: The tax angle that we mentioned at the beginning of this video.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: DNV holders can opt into Spain's Beckham Law, officially the Special Tax Regime for Impatriates, named after footballer David Beckham, who benefited from it when he moved to the capital of Spain for his tenure at Real Madrid.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: The Beckham Law taxes your Spanish source income at a flat 24% for up to six years on earnings up to€600,000 per year.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: Anything above that threshold is taxed at 47% or higher, depending on the region where you're tax resident in Spain.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: But the real advantage goes beyond the rate.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: Under the Beckham Law, you are treated as a non-resident for tax purposes.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: So foreign source non-employment income, like dividends, rental income from overseas properties, and capital gains on foreign assets, are all outside Spanish taxation entirely.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: You're also exempt from Spain's wealth tax on assets held abroad.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: Compare that to what standard Spanish residents face, relatively low tax bracket thresholds and progressive tax rates that climb as high as 50% on worldwide income and even higher in some regions.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: The gap between special taxation and ordinary taxation in Spain can be drastic.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: The Entrepreneur Visa.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: Now for Spain's least discussed residency option, which also may be its most promising in the post-Golden Visa era.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: The Entrepreneur Visa grants residence to non-EU nationals who propose an innovative business of special economic interest to Spain.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: Contrary to what you may read online, it was not affected by the Golden Visa termination.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: It falls under different articles of the same law.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: Applicants start with a business plan and submit it to ENISA, Spain's national innovation company.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: ENISA evaluates your proposal on two criteria, innovation and scalability.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: Traditional brick and mortar concepts will not pass.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: They want tech-enabled, high-growth, or impact-driven models that bring something new to the Spanish market and create local jobs.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: If ENISA issues a favorable report within three months, you apply for your residence permit through the Large Companies and Strategic Groups Uni, which takes as little as two weeks.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: That makes the final approval stage one of the fastest turnaround times in Spanish immigration law.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: The initial permit runs for three years, renewable in five-year increments.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: Like the other two visas, you must live in Spain for at least six months per year to maintain the status and establish tax residency, and financial solvency requirements are modest.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: The official baseline is around€7,200 per year, though many consulates expect proof of higher funds in practice.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: And finally, since the Startup Law took effect in 2023, entrepreneur visa holders also qualify for the Beckham Law Tax Regime and a flat 24% tax rate on Spanish income and exemption from taxation on foreign sourced non-employment income for your first six years.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: On imidaly.com, you can filter, sort, and contact experts who specialize in Spanish residency or any other immigration status in 180 other jurisdictions at imidaly.com slash IMI Professionals.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: If you are exploring residency in Europe, one of these three visas will likely fit your situation.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: But if you want to see how the Beckham Law compares to what other tax incentives European countries offer, yes, there are many, check out the video on your screen now covering Europe's five non-DOM tax regimes.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: You don't want to miss this.
• 8:27
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