the investor residence permit closed on 3 April 2025 under Organic Law 1/2025; the routes that remain open
The Spain golden visa no longer exists. Organic Law 1/2025 ended the investor residence permit on 3 April 2025 and nothing replaced it. Existing holders keep and renew their permits. For everyone else, residence in Spain in 2026 means the non-lucrative visa (about €28,800 a year of passive income and 183 days in Spain), the digital nomad visa (about €2,849 a month of remote income), or a work-based permit.
Figures verified 27 September 2026 · Licensed CICC consultant, Toronto
Spain's golden visa ran from 2013 under the Entrepreneurs Law: €500,000 in property, €1 million in funds or deposits, €2 million in government bonds, or an approved business project, for a renewable residence permit with no stay requirement. Organic Law 1/2025, published in the state gazette on 3 January 2025, repealed the investor residence articles with effect from 3 April 2025. No new application has been accepted since that date, and the government has said there will be no replacement scheme.
Applications lodged before 3 April 2025 were decided under the old rules. Permits already granted remain valid and renew on the same terms for as long as the investment is kept, and holders can still bring family members. If you hold one, keep the investment and renew on time; if you sell the property, the permit goes with it.
Pages still promising a Spain golden visa, Spanish citizenship by investment or a Spain investment visa are out of date. We do not file investor applications in Spain because the route no longer exists. The routes that remain open are set out below.
Every route below requires you to live in Spain and makes you a Spanish tax resident. None is an investment product; all require far less capital than the former golden visa. Detail on the path to long-term residence and citizenship is on our Spain permanent residence page.
€28,800 a year
No work of any kind, and most consulates treat remote work as work. Private health insurance with no co-payments, a clean record and 183+ days a year in Spain.
€2,849 a month
Employer or clients of at least three months' standing, a degree or three years' experience, and social-security cover. Some holders can elect the Beckham regime: 24% flat tax on Spanish employment income for six years.
Salary-based
No fixed capital
If what you wanted from the golden visa was a European permit without moving, Spain no longer offers that. Portugal's €500,000 fund route (7 days a year) and Greece's €250,000–800,000 property route (no stay) still do. Figures verified 27 September 2026.
Spain permanent residence, formally long-term residence, comes after five years of continuous legal residence on a non-lucrative, digital nomad or work permit; citizenship after ten. There is no investment shortcut since the golden visa closed in April 2025. The principal consequence is tax: you are Spanish tax resident from the year you settle.
| Golden visa (closed) | Non-lucrative visa | Digital nomad visa | Portugal / Greece golden visa | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Money | €500,000 property | €28,800 a year passive income | €2,849 a month remote income | €500,000 fund / €250,000+ property |
| Stay required | None | 183+ days a year | Lives in Spain; absences limited | 7 days a year / none |
| Work | Allowed | None | Remote only | Allowed |
| Tax residence | Optional | Yes, from arrival | Yes; Beckham 24% election for some | Only if you move |
| Long-term residence | 5 years | 5 years | 5 years | 5 years (Portugal); via renewal (Greece) |
| Citizenship | 10 years residence | 10 years residence | 10 years residence | 10 years / 7 years residence |
Jane Katkova has advised on citizenship and residence by investment since 1998. We confirm eligibility, the complete fee schedule and the realistic processing time before you pay anything, and we advise against a programme when it does not fit your circumstances.
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Photo: Julian Tong / UnsplashMost clients who searched for the Spain golden visa wanted a permit they could hold from Toronto or Texas and use in retirement. Spain no longer offers that. If you will actually move, the non-lucrative visa costs nothing beyond proof of about €28,800 a year and health insurance, and the nomad visa suits anyone still working remotely. Both make you Spanish tax resident from the day you settle: worldwide income at progressive rates, wealth tax on assets above the regional thresholds, and the solidarity tax on net wealth above €3 million. The US–Spain and Canada–Spain treaties prevent most double taxation; they do not remove US filing, FBAR or FATCA, and a Canadian who becomes non-resident faces departure tax on deemed dispositions. If you want residence without relocating, consider Portugal or Greece.
The non-lucrative and nomad routes are open to any third-country national, and Spanish consulates in Toronto, New York, Los Angeles and elsewhere accept applications from legal residents, not only citizens. The permit gives Schengen travel on the Spanish card and long-term residence at five years; it does not touch your US or Canadian status and does not open the UK, US or Canada. Nationals of Latin American countries, the Philippines, Andorra, Portugal and Equatorial Guinea can naturalise after two years instead of ten, which makes Spain the fastest route to EU citizenship for them.
Tell Jane Katkova, licensed CICC consultant, what you wanted from the golden visa. If it was a home in Spain, we file the non-lucrative or nomad visa. If it was a permit you can hold without relocating, we set out Portugal and Greece with full figures.
No. Organic Law 1/2025 abolished it with effect from 3 April 2025 and no new investor residence applications have been accepted since. There is no replacement programme. Anyone offering a Spanish investor permit or citizenship by investment today is offering a programme that no longer exists.
They keep it. Permits granted before 3 April 2025 stay valid and renew under the old rules as long as the qualifying investment is kept, and family members can still be added. Selling the property ends the basis for renewal. After five years of residence a holder can move to a long-term residence permit that no longer depends on the investment.
Within Spain, the non-lucrative visa: about €28,800 a year of passive income for the main applicant plus €7,200 per dependant, private health insurance, no work, and 183 or more days a year in Spain. If you wanted a permit without moving, the closest equivalents are Portugal's €500,000 fund golden visa (7 days a year) and Greece's property golden visa from €250,000 (no stay).
About €2,849 a month gross for the main applicant, 200% of the 2026 minimum wage, plus roughly €1,068 for a spouse and €356 per child. Income must come from employers or clients outside Spain (at most 20% Spanish-source), with a degree or three years' experience and a relationship of at least three months with the employer or clients.
Yes, on the same routes as any non-EU national: non-lucrative, digital nomad, highly qualified professional or entrepreneur visas, filed at the Spanish consulate for your state or province. Expect to become Spanish tax resident, keep filing US returns if American, and plan Canadian departure tax if you leave Canada for good.
After ten years of continuous legal residence, with an A2 Spanish exam, the CCSE civics test, a clean record and a declaration renouncing your previous nationality. Nationals of Ibero-American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea and Portugal qualify after two years. Long-term residence, which is permanent and needs no language test, comes at five years.
Compare them side by side: all residence programmes we advise on and EU residence by investment options. Looking for a passport rather than a permit? See Antigua's National Development Fund route or Grenada's National Transformation Fund route.
This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Programme rules change; we confirm every figure before you commit.
A confidential consultation with a licensed CICC consultant. We assess eligibility and total cost before you commit to any programme.