LEGALTICA GUIDE

Spain’s golden visa is gone: the alternatives that still work

Spain abolished its golden visa for investors with effect from 3 April 2025: since then, buying property or investing money no longer gives you a residence permit by itself, and there is no replacement investor visa. If you already held a golden visa, or had applied before that date, the old rules still apply to you; everyone else now qualifies through another route, such as the non-lucrative visa (€28,800 a year in 2026), the digital nomad visa (€2,442 a month of work income) or the entrepreneur permit.

The rest of Legaltica is in Spanish.

Legaltica editorial team Reviewed 24 October 2026 · 9 min read

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What exactly changed

The investor residence scheme was in articles 63 to 67 of Law 14/2013. It covered buying property worth €500,000 or more, €2 million in Spanish public debt, €1 million in shares or bank deposits, and business projects of general interest. Organic Law 1/2025 left all five articles without content, with effect from 3 April 2025, and added two transitional rules for people already in the system.

Nothing replaced it. The other residence permits in Law 14/2013 (entrepreneurs, highly qualified professionals, researchers, intra-company transfers and remote workers) are unchanged and are now the main alternatives for people who used to look at the golden visa.

If you already have a golden visa or applied before 3 April 2025

01 Applications filed before 3 April 2025decided under the rules in force on the day they were filed, so a pending file can still end in a golden visa.

02 Investor visas and permits valid on that datethey keep their validity for the full period for which they were issued.

03 Renewalsprocessed and decided under the rules that applied when your initial permit was granted. In practice you keep renewing while you still meet those conditions, above all keeping the qualifying investment.

04 Family memberstheir permits follow yours, so the same transitional rules apply to them.

After five years of legal and continuous residence you can apply for long-term residence, which does not depend on the investment. Many golden visa holders spent little time in Spain; long-term residence and, later, citizenship are assessed on real residence, so plan the days you spend in Spain now that a new golden visa is not available as a fallback.

Immigration lawyers in Spain who speak English

Tell a firm about your situation in English: they receive your message and your phone number, and you see theirs straight away. It’s free and you’re not committing to anything. Languages are taken from each firm’s profile. Firms marked “Registered with Legaltica” manage their own profile.

Registered with Legaltica

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Abogada Elmira Parikyan - Boutique legal

5.0 · 12 Google Speaks English

Elmira Parikyan es abogada colegiada en el Ilustre Colegio de la Abogacía de Barcelona y directora de KPLEX Boutique Legal, un despacho ubicado en el distrito de Gràcia concebido para ofrecer una atención jurídica de la más alta exigencia, caracterizada por el rigor técnico, la visión estratégica y un trato estrictamente a medida. Su práctica profesional se centra en el …
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Alicante
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Hurtado & Bárez Abogados

5.0 · 125 Google Speaks English

Hurtado & Bárez Abogados es un despacho de Alicante con más de 25 años de experiencia, que ofrece asesoramiento integral y personalizado para cada cliente. Se caracteriza por un seguimiento cercano y una solución a medida para cada procedimiento, defendiendo los intereses de sus clientes. El despacho se presenta como líder en Alicante y cuenta con especialistas en diversas ramas …
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Sevilla
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M&C Abogados y Consultores

5.0 · 1 Google Speaks English

M&C Abogados y Consultores es un despacho boutique jurídico ubicado en Sevilla. Se caracteriza por situar al cliente en el centro de su trabajo, con un equipo que asume un número limitado de casos para garantizar la máxima calidad, proximidad y éxito. Se autodefine como una “boutique jurídica”, enfocada en ofrecer un servicio cercano y exclusivo, con premisas de transparencia, …

Which alternative fits you

01 Retired or living off investments, not working non-lucrative residence.

02 Working remotely for a company or clients abroad digital nomad visa.

03 Starting an innovative company in Spain entrepreneur residence.

04 Hired by a company in Spain for a senior or specialised post highly qualified professional permit or EU Blue Card.

05 Married to, or the partner of, a Spaniard or an EU citizen living in Spain the family routes, which are usually the quickest and cheapest.

06 Opening an ordinary business you will run yourself residence and self-employment permit.

How much each route costs you in 2026

€28,800 Non-lucrative residencefor the first year for the main applicant (400% of the IPREM) plus €7,200 per family member, in income or available savings; at each two-year renewal you show two years of means.

€2,442 Digital nomad visaa month of work income (200% of the minimum wage as consulates calculate it), plus €915.75 for the first family member and €305.25 for each additional one.

· Entrepreneur residenceno fixed amount; you need a favourable report from ENISA on an innovative business plan and enough resources for yourself and your family.

· Highly qualified professionala job offer for a qualified post; the salary has to match the level of the post and, for the EU Blue Card, reach the annual salary threshold set for it.

· Family of a Spaniardfree of charge, with no income requirement in most cases.

€10.94 Government feesper person for the initial non-lucrative permit and €73.26 per person for permits filed with the Large Companies Unit (UGE-CE), plus €16.08 for the first residence card.

The routes in detail

01 Non-lucrative residenceyou cannot work at all, not even remotely, and you must spend more than 183 days a year in Spain to renew. One year, then renewals of two years. The money you would have invested counts as available savings, but the property itself does not give you the permit.

02 Digital nomad (international teleworking)a working relationship of at least three months with a company outside Spain that has been active for a year, and a degree or three years’ experience. Can be requested from inside Spain if you are there legally, with a 20-day decision deadline and positive silence. Up to three years, renewable for two.

03 Entrepreneur residencefor an innovative business, or one of special economic interest for Spain, assessed by ENISA. Three years, renewable for two, and filed online with the UGE-CE.

04 Highly qualified professionals and EU Blue Cardif a company in Spain hires you for a highly qualified post. Up to three years, renewable for two, also through the UGE-CE.

05 Family routesspouses, registered partners and some relatives of Spanish citizens get a five-year permit, free and with the right to work; family members of EU citizens living in Spain get a five-year EU family member card.

06 Self-employmenta standard residence and self-employment permit if your business is viable and you have the necessary licences, applied for at a consulate; one year, then renewals.

Tax was never part of the golden visa

Whichever route you choose, if you spend more than 183 days a year in Spain you will usually become a Spanish tax resident, taxed on your worldwide income and required to report foreign assets above certain thresholds. That is often the real cost of moving, more than any visa fee.

People who move to Spain to work, including remote workers and entrepreneurs, may be able to opt into the special regime for incoming workers (the Beckham law): a flat 24% on work income up to €600,000 for six years, if they have not been Spanish tax residents in the previous five. Our free calculator (in Spanish) compares it with ordinary income tax.

Mistakes we see after the change

Buying a property expecting residence, on the advice of an agent or an out-of-date website that still sells the golden visa.
Choosing the non-lucrative visa and then working remotely, which is not allowed and can cost you the renewal.
Letting a golden visa lapse by mistake: once it has expired, the old rules can no longer be used to get it back.
Selling or reducing the investment during the permit’s validity without checking how it affects the next renewal.
Assuming the golden visa years count automatically towards long-term residence or citizenship, when absences can break continuity.

If your application or renewal is refused

Decisions of the UGE-CE on permits under Law 14/2013 can be challenged with an administrative appeal (recurso de alzada) within one month of notification, and then before the courts. For renewals of golden visas the transitional rule is decisive: the authority must apply the rules in force when the initial permit was granted, so a refusal that applies the new law, or treats the scheme as if it no longer existed for you, is a point worth appealing.

When to talk to a lawyer

These are the situations where a lawyer saves you the permit or months of delay. The firms listed say they speak English.

You hold a golden visa and your renewal is coming up, especially if the investment has changed, been refinanced or partly sold.

Your application filed before 3 April 2025 is still pending, or has been refused under the new rules.

You want to move from a golden visa to long-term residence or to a different permit without a gap in legal residence.

You need to choose between non-lucrative, digital nomad and entrepreneur routes for a family with mixed nationalities or income sources.

You bought property after April 2025 expecting residence and now need a real route.

You have been refused: the one-month appeal deadline runs from notification.

Talk to a lawyer who speaks English

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Immigration lawyers in Spain who speak English