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A bill which includes the legislation to officially end the golden visa scheme has been vetoed by the Spanish Senate, potentially putting a snag in plans to phase out the scheme.
The Justice Efficiency Law is a wide-ranging measure that incorporates several big issues in one law such as express evictions for squatters and, crucially, ending the golden visa. The government was looking for a way to push the legislation through and found that attaching it to a piece of pre-existing legislation was the easiest way.
READ ALSO: What the end of all of Spain’s golden visas means for foreigners
The controversial golden visa grants non-EU nationals residency in Spain when they buy property worth €500,000, as well investing €1 million in shares in Spanish companies, or €2 million in government bonds, or transferring €1 million to a Spanish bank account.
It was back in April when Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez first announced the government’s intention to cancel the visa.
The Spanish Congress then approved the law back in November, but the Senate, where the centre-right Partido Popular (PP) has an absolute majority, has now batted the bill back to the lower house.
According to Spanish Senate rules, “the amendments or vetoes approved by the Senate shall be referred to the Congress of Deputies, where they shall be debated and voted on in plenary session. Senate amendments are incorporated into the final text of the law if the Congress ratifies them by a simple majority.”
In short, this Senate veto does not necessarily mean the decision to phase out the golden visa has been overturned, or that the scheme will continue.
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Sánchez’s Socialists (PSOE) and congressional coalition allies have a slim majority in Congress, meaning it could be approved with a simple majority and still go ahead.
The law will now return to Congress and then be published in an Official State Bulletin, if passed, before it comes into force. This was previously expected to take place in January 2025 but after the Senate’s veto of the bill, it’s unclear on the future timeline or if it will be affected. The Local will cover all these developments as they happen.
It’s also unclear why exactly the PP vetoed the law, or indeed if it had anything to do with the golden visa specifically.
Spanish media report PP sources referring only to a “lack of correct regulatory technique” in the bill but no specifics about whether the veto was about the golden visa or another part of the law.
READ ALSO: Spain grants hundreds of golden visas since announcing end of scheme
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Since the Spanish government announced its intention to get rid of the golden visa, there has been a rush of applications.
A total of 573 golden visas have been issued to non-EU citizens since April 2024, when Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez first announced he would be scrapping this residency option for wealthy non-EU nationals.
Between January and October 2024, the number of golden visas granted totalled 780, with an average investment of €657,204 per applicant.
For many non-EU foreigners wanting to move to Spain, the cancellation of the golden visa would represent the end of the ‘best’ visa option available to them.
The golden visa is the only residency scheme in Spain which doesn’t require you to spend at least 183 days in the country to hold onto your residency rights. Holders can spend as much time away from Spain as you wanted and still retain the right to return. Only one day in Spain a year to renew the visa is required.
READ ALSO: Golden visa cancellation spells end of Spain’s ‘best’ residency option