Thousands of wealthy Britons have been using the "Golden Visa" in an effort to by-pass the 90 day rule which means that non-resident Britons in Spain can only spend 180 days a year in the country in two batches of 90 days. Also, it reduces the amount of paperwork which is needed to become a Spanish resident.
The Golden Visa is a visa issued to non-European nationals, granting them and their family members residence permit in Spanish and visa-free access to the Schengen area, when making a significant investment in the Spanish economy. However, Spain has indicated that it will be scrapping the Golden visa in the early new year.
The most usual way to be offered a Spain Golden Visa is through the purchase of real estate properties for a minimum investment of 500,000 Euro. However, the visa is also available to businesspeople who invest in the Spanish economy, either monetarily or with highly qualified knowledge.
Official figures from the Spanish government states that of the total 33,237 residence permits issued through the Golden Visa programme, 12,723 are real estate investors (12,091) and business investors, and the rest are family members.
About 5,300 investors with valid permits are from non-European Union countries, the majority of them from the United Kingdom. At the same time, there were a total of 4,082 Asian investors, the majority of whom were from China, 1,377 from North America, and 1,052 Central.