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Spain’s Golden Visa Is Dead. Here Are Three Ways You Can Still Move There · IMI Podcasts

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Spain officially ended its golden visa program on April 3rd, 2025.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: Organic Law 1 of 2025 repealed Articles 63 through 67 of the 2013 legislation that had allowed wealthy foreigners to buy their way into Spanish residency for over a decade.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: If you had your sight set on Spain, you might assume the door is closed.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: It is not.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: The Golden Visa was always just one of several paths into the country.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: Three alternatives remain open, each offering a route to permanent residency after five years and citizenship after ten.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: For nationals of Ibero-American countries, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, and a few other nations with historical ties to Spain, that citizenship timeline drops to just two years.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: What has changed is the entry point.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: You can no longer write a check for a 500,000 euro apartment and collect a residence permit.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: Instead, you will need to meet Spain on its own terms, whether that means working remotely, retiring on passive income, or launching a business.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: Here is how each route works.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: Spain's Digital Nomad Visa, or DNV, launched in January 2023 under the country's startup law, Law 28 of 2022.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: It targets remote workers employed by foreign companies or self-employed professionals whose clients are predominantly based outside Spain.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: To qualify, you must earn at least around€2,849 per month, 200% of Spain's minimum wage, which was raised 3.1% in January 2026.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: You also need a higher education degree or three years of relevant professional experience, plus private health insurance with no copays.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: At least 80% of your professional activity must serve clients or employers outside Spain.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: If you apply from abroad, the initial visa is valid for one year.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: Once in Spain, you can convert it into a residence permit lasting up to three years, renewable for two more.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: After five years of continuous legal residence, you become eligible for permanent residency.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: What makes this visa especially attractive is the tax angle.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: DNV holders can opt into Spain's Beckham Law, officially known as the Special Tax Regime for Impatriates.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: Named after footballer David Beckham, who benefited from it during his time at Real Madrid, the regime taxes your Spanish source income at a flat 24% for up to six years on earnings up to 600,000 euros per year.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: Anything above that threshold is taxed at 47%.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: The real advantage goes beyond the rate.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: Under the Beckham Law, you are treated as a non-resident for tax purposes.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: Foreign source non-employment income, including dividends, rental income from overseas properties, and capital gains on foreign assets, falls outside Spanish taxation entirely.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: You are also exempt from Spain's wealth tax on assets held abroad.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: Standard Spanish residents face progressive tax rates that climb as high as 47% on worldwide income, and even higher in some regions.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: The gap between the two regimes is substantial.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: There is one catch.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: You must apply to the Spanish tax agency within six months of starting work in Spain.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: Miss that window and you lose access to the Beckham Law for good.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: If you do not work and have no intention of starting, Spain's non-lucrative visa in NLV may be your most straightforward option.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: This is Spain's independent means visa, designed for retirees, fire individuals, and anyone who can support themselves without employment.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: The financial bar is relatively low.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: You need to show passive income or savings of 28,800 euros per year for the main applicant, based on 400% of Spain's public income indicator, also known as IPRIM.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: Each dependent requires an additional€7,200 annually.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: Qualifying income includes pensions, annuities, rental income from overseas properties, Social Security payments, and investment dividends.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: The key word is passive.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: You cannot work in Spain on this visa, not even remotely.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: That prohibition is strictly enforced.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: If remote work is your primary income source, the NLV is the wrong visa.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: Spain's immigration authorities drew a clear line between the NLV and the digital nomad visa for exactly this reason.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: The visa is initially valid for one year, renewable for two year periods thereafter.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: After five years of continuous residence, you can apply for permanent residency.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: Citizenship follows the standard 10-year timeline, or two years for nationals of the historically linked countries mentioned above.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: One rule changed in 2025.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: The Spanish government reinstated a minimum physical presence requirement of 183 days per year to maintain the NLV.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: If you are looking for a residence permit you can hold while living mostly elsewhere, this is no longer it.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: Spain's least discussed residency option may be its most promising in the post-Golden Visa era.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: The Entrepreneur Visa grants residence to non-EU nationals who propose an innovative business of special economic interest to Spain.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: It was not affected by the Golden Visa termination, as it falls under different Articles of Law 14 of 2013.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: The process starts with a business plan submitted to ENISA, Spain's national innovation company.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: ENISA evaluates your proposal on two criteria, innovation and scalability.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: Traditional brick and mortar concepts will not pass.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: They want tech-enabled, high-growth or impact-driven models that bring something new to the Spanish market and create local jobs.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: If ENISA issues a favorable report, you apply for your residence permit through the Large Companies and Strategic Groups Unit, or UGE.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: That makes the final approval stage one of the fastest turnaround times in Spanish immigration law.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: The initial permit runs for three years, renewable in five-year increments.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: Unlike the Golden Visa, you must live in Spain for at least six months per year to maintain the status.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: Financial solvency requirements are modest.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: The official baseline is 100% of IPREM, around 7,200 euros per year, for the main applicant, though many consulates expect proof of higher funds.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: Since the startup law took effect in 2023, entrepreneur visa holders also qualify for the Beckham Law.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: That means the same flat 24% tax rate on Spanish income and exemption from taxation on foreign source non-employment income for your first six years.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: Dr.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: Jacinto Soler Matutez, who analyzed the Golden Visa termination timeline for IMI Daily, noted that the three remaining alternatives all require effective residence of at least six months per year, a departure from the Golden Visa's famously minimal physical presence obligations.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: The Golden Visa attracted investors who parked capital in real estate and spent little time in the country.
• 7:31
  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.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: A proposed 100% tax on property purchases by non-EU, non-resident buyers could further reshape the calculus for anyone considering Spanish real estate purely as an investment.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: The alternatives that remain all require you to actually live in Spain.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: Remote workers contribute to local economies.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: Retirees spend their pensions in Spanish shops and restaurants.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: Entrepreneurs create jobs.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: Each of these routes still leads to the same destination, permanent residency after five years and citizenship after ten.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: The entry ticket just looks different now.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: Instead of a half million euro property purchase, you need a plan to build a life in Spain, not just a portfolio.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: This episode first appeared as an article by Nagi Sabolt on IMIDAily.com.
• 8:33
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• 8:40
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