Spain aims to ban golden visas from January - but one country is reintroducing its scheme

11.11.2024 - 01:41 / euronews.com

Getting the right to live and work in another country can be a long and difficult process. But that’s not always the case for those with money to spend.

Golden visas offer the opportunity for wealthy people to essentially ‘buy’ the right to residency - sometimes without even having to live in the country.

And their popularity in the European Union is growing as people look to move away from countries facing instability and political decisions such as Brexit that may limit their safety and rights.

With the unsettled political and social environment in the US in recent years, applications for golden visas from Americans were also projected to increase.

But golden visas are now gradually being phased out across Europe.

Spain has finally secured a legal route to ending golden visas via property investment, with reports suggesting the ban could come into force by January 2025. The ban, which is still being debated, could also affect other investment pathways.

Portugal removed real estate investment as a basis for golden visa applications back in October 2023 in the hope of reducing property speculation.

The Netherlands followed suit, ending its golden visa scheme in January 2024.

But Hungary has bucked the trend by reintroducing its golden visa scheme, with applications open as of this month.

So what exactly are these golden visa schemes and why has the EU raised questions about their safety in recent years?

Residence by investment schemes, otherwise known as ‘golden visas’, offer people the chance to get a residency permit for a country by purchasing a house there or making a large investment or donation.

Any applicants must be over the age of 18, have a clean criminal record and have sufficient funds to make the required investment.

There are also golden passports, known officially as citizenship by investment programs, that allow foreigners to gain citizenship using the same means.

For countries in the EU, this also means gaining access to many of the benefits of being a resident of the bloc - including free movement between countries.

In 2022, the European Commission called on EU governments to stop selling citizenship to investors.

Though this is different to golden visas, which offer permanent residency rather than citizenship, the call came as part of a move to crack down on this combined multi-billion euro industry. In the wake of the Ukraine war, there were concerns that these schemes could be a security risk.

Brussels also called for countries to double-check whether people sanctioned due to the war were holding a golden passport or visa that they had issued.

In the past, the EU has also said that schemes of this kind are a risk to security, transparency and the values that underpin the European Union project.

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