Golden Visa Spanje 2026: wat kwam ervoor in de plaats en hoe krijg je verblijfsrecht

Spain’s Golden Visa programme, which granted residency permits to non-EU nationals who invested a minimum of €500,000 in Spanish real estate, was formally abolished on 3 April 2025. The programme had been running since 2013 and had issued roughly 14,600 residence permits over its twelve-year life, with Chinese, Russian, and Middle Eastern nationals making up the majority of applicants. The political argument for abolishing it was that it contributed to housing price inflation in cities like Barcelona, Madrid and Málaga, though the actual volume of Golden Visa purchases represented less than 0.3% of annual Spanish property transactions.

For the Costa del Sol luxury market specifically, the impact was smaller than the headlines suggested. The vast majority of international buyers in the €1–5M bracket on the Costa del Sol were buying as lifestyle purchases or second homes, not primarily for the visa. When the programme ended, our pipeline did not shrink. The buyers who had been using the Golden Visa route simply moved to one of the three alternatives below, and those who had never needed residency kept buying exactly as before.

The Non-Lucrative Visa is now the most common residency route for property buyers who want to live in Spain full-time or near full-time but do not intend to work in the country. It was not created as a replacement for the Golden Visa (it has existed for decades) but it has absorbed the majority of buyers who previously used the Golden Visa route. The key requirements in 2026 are: proof of sufficient financial means (approximately €28,800 per year for the main applicant plus €7,200 per dependent), private health insurance with full coverage in Spain and no co-pays, a clean criminal record certificate from your country of residence, and no tuberculosis.

There is no minimum property purchase requirement. You can buy a €200,000 apartment and still qualify, as long as you meet the income threshold. The visa is initially issued for one year and renewable for two-year periods thereafter, provided you spend a minimum of 183 days per year in Spain. After five years of continuous residence you can apply for permanent residency, and after ten years for Spanish citizenship. The main limitation is that Non-Lucrative Visa holders are not permitted to work in Spain; neither as employees nor as self-employed. Investment income, pensions, dividends and rental income from properties outside Spain are all permitted.

Spain’s Digital Nomad Visa, introduced in January 2023, is the route for property buyers who work remotely for a non-Spanish employer or operate their own non-Spanish company. The requirements are: a remote work contract or freelance activity with clients predominantly outside Spain, a minimum annual income of approximately €28,800 (or three times the Spanish minimum wage), professional experience of at least one year or a relevant university degree, private health insurance, and a clean criminal record.

The Digital Nomad Visa is particularly attractive because it comes with a built-in tax benefit. Holders qualify for the Beckham Law regime (Impatriado), which means they pay a flat 24% income tax rate on Spanish-source income up to €600,000 instead of the standard progressive rates that go up to 47%. This regime lasts for six years and applies to the tax year of arrival plus the following five years. For a remote worker earning €150,000 per year, this can mean a saving of €15,000–25,000 per year compared to standard Spanish tax rates.

The visa is initially issued for three years and renewable for a further two years. After five years of residence you can apply for permanent residency on the standard track. There is no restriction on property ownership, many Digital Nomad Visa holders buy immediately on the Costa del Sol because the combination of the Beckham Law tax regime and Marbella’s infrastructure (fast fibre internet, co-working spaces, international schools) makes it an appealing base.

The Entrepreneur Visa is designed for non-EU nationals who want to start or invest in a business in Spain. It is less commonly used by property buyers but relevant for those who plan to combine a property purchase with launching a business on the Costa del Sol: a property management company, a consultancy, or an import/export operation, for example. The requirements include a viable business plan that must be approved by a government economic office, proof of sufficient funds to sustain the business and your living expenses, relevant professional qualifications or experience, and no criminal record.

The Entrepreneur Visa leads to a residence and work permit valid for two years, renewable for further two-year periods. It does not have the same tax advantages as the Digital Nomad Visa, but it does allow you to work in Spain and employ staff, which the Non-Lucrative Visa does not. For property buyers in the luxury segment, the most common use case we see is clients who are relocating their business operations to Spain or establishing a Spanish subsidiary, and who purchase a home on the Costa del Sol simultaneously.

The residency route you choose determines your tax position in Spain, which directly affects the economics of owning property here. Non-Lucrative Visa holders become Spanish tax residents and are taxed on worldwide income at progressive rates from 19% to 47%, though they can apply for the Beckham Law regime if they have not been Spanish tax resident in the previous five years. Digital Nomad Visa holders automatically qualify for the Beckham Law flat rate. Entrepreneur Visa holders are taxed under the standard progressive regime unless they also qualify for Beckham Law.

For property specifically, all three routes result in the same treatment of the property itself: you will pay IBI (council tax) annually, you will be subject to wealth tax on net assets above €700,000 in Andalucía (with the first €300,000 of your primary residence exempt), and you will pay capital gains tax of 19–28% when you sell. The difference is in how your other income is taxed, which determines your overall effective tax rate and therefore your capacity to service a mortgage or fund your lifestyle on the coast.

We strongly recommend engaging a Spanish tax advisor (asesor fiscal) who is familiar with international clients before choosing your residency route. The wrong choice can cost tens of thousands of euros per year in unnecessary tax, and switching between regimes mid-stream is not always straightforward.

You do not need any visa or residency permit to buy property in Spain. Non-EU nationals can purchase freely with just an NIE number (fiscal identification number) and a Spanish bank account. There is no restriction on the number of properties you can own, no minimum or maximum purchase value, and no requirement to live in Spain at all. Thousands of international buyers own Costa del Sol property as a pure holiday home or investment without ever applying for residency.

If you are buying without residency, you will be classified as a non-resident for tax purposes. This means: you pay a flat 19% (EU/EEA nationals) or 24% (non-EU nationals) on deemed rental income even when the property is empty, you are subject to the 3% retention on the sale price when you eventually sell (refundable against your actual capital gains liability), and you file an annual Modelo 210 non-resident tax return. You also have full access to Spanish mortgage financing at similar rates to residents, typically with a lower loan-to-value ratio of 60–70% rather than the 80% available to residents.

If you plan to combine a property purchase with a residency application, the optimal sequence is: first, engage a Spanish immigration lawyer and tax advisor to determine which route suits your circumstances. Second, apply for your NIE number. You will need this for both the property purchase and the visa application. Third, begin your property search and secure a reservation. Fourth, while the purchase conveyancing progresses (typically 8–12 weeks from reservation to completion), prepare your visa documentation in parallel. Fifth, complete the property purchase at the notary. Sixth, submit your visa application either from your home country or, if you are already in Spain on a tourist visa, in person.

The timeline from first property viewing to having both keys and residency is typically 4–6 months. The property purchase itself takes 8–12 weeks; the visa application adds 4–8 weeks on top if you apply from your home country, or 2–4 weeks if you apply in Spain. The most common mistake we see is buyers who complete their property purchase and then realise their visa application requires documents they could have been gathering during the conveyancing period, criminal record certificates with apostilles, for example, which can take 6–8 weeks to obtain from some countries.