Spain golden visa: closure and existing holders
Spain’s golden visa closed to new applications on 3 April 2025. Existing permits remain valid for their issued term and renewals use the rules at the original grant.
By Flight Risk Capital. Last updated: .
When did Spain end its golden visa?
Organic Law 1/2025 of 2 January 2025 ended the investor residence route. It was published in the BOE on 3 January 2025 and the change took effect on 3 April 2025.
Final provision 21 removed articles 63 to 67 of Law 14/2013. The Spanish Government’s closure announcement of 2 April 2025 confirms that the closure covered all investor residence routes, including investments beyond property.
What happens to existing holders?
A visa or residence permit valid when the change took effect keeps the validity period for which it was issued. The closure did not cancel that permission.
Renewal applications are processed and decided under the rules that applied when the initial permission was granted. This is a continuing renewal route for existing holders, not an invitation to submit a new investor application. See final provision 21 and the transitional rules in the law.
What happens to an application submitted before closure?
Investors and their family members who submitted an application before 3 April 2025 can receive the relevant visa or permit under the rules in force on their application date.
The transitional rule refers to an application already submitted. Buying an asset is not itself the submission of a visa or residence application.
What official alternatives remain?
Non-lucrative visa: residence for applicants with sufficient financial means who will not carry out gainful work or professional activity; it does not grant work permission.
Digital nomad visa: qualifying remote work for businesses outside Spain, with a limited allowance for self-employed work for Spanish companies.
Where do residence and tax checks fit?
The Spain guide covers the wider residence and tax questions. The investment residence comparison shows which other programmes remain open.
Residence by investment does not by itself change where someone pays tax. Check the statutory residence test and the country guides for separate tax residence rules (HMRC, checked 25 October 2026).
Use the moving abroad checklist for UK departure steps.
What else do readers ask?
Is the Spain golden visa still available in 2026?
No. It closed to new applications on 3 April 2025 under Organic Law 1/2025.
Can an existing Spanish investor permit be renewed?
Yes. Renewal applications use the rules in force at the initial grant. Existing permission remains valid for its issued term.
What if I applied before 3 April 2025?
The transitional rules allow investors and family members who applied before commencement to receive permission under the rules at their application date.
Does buying a Spanish property now give investor residence?
No. New investor residence applications are closed. A purchase alone does not reopen that route.
Sources
- BOE: Organic Law 1/2025, final provision 21, .
- Spanish Government: Investor residence visas end on 3 April, .
- Spanish Consulate in London: Non-working residence visa, .
- Spanish Consulate in London: Digital Nomad Visa, .
- HMRC: Tax on foreign income: UK residence and tax, checked .