The end of the Spanish Golden Visa for UK British Nationals and other non-EU citizens, has been on the cards since Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s announcement in April 2024. Since then the Government have made significant progress with legislation necessary to bring about the end of this type of Spanish residency.
In November 2024 Congress approved a bill that included text to scrap the ‘Golden Visa’ and end this residency scheme as soon as January 2025. On December 2nd, the Senate vetoed the bill sending it back to Congress delaying the ending of the Golden Visa for property purchases in Spain for several months. It is now expected that the earliest legislation could get pushed through is April 2025.
Spain’s Digital Nomad Visa and Residency is now nearly two years old and has become the second most popular Spanish residency after the Non-Lucrative Visa. This visa or residency permit allows the holder to live in Spain and work remotely or online. It can be applied directly in Spain, or via the Spanish Consulate in the country in which you currently reside.
To get Spain’s Digital Nomad Visa, applicants must have sufficient funds to support themselves, proof they can work remotely from Spain, and must already have been working in their current ‘remote worker’ employment or self-employment prior to applying.
Holders of the Digital Nomad Visa or Residency Permit, may also be eligible for a special income tax rate fixed at 24% for the first 5 years, offering higher earners reduced income tax compared to normal residents.
The Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa offers residency to British nationals who have the financial means to support themselves without working. The Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa scheme is therefore ideal if you are retired, or have passive income, for example income from rental properties or other investments. The Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa is intended for full-time residency in Spain, i.e. 6 months or more per year.
What does the Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa Offer UK British Nationals?
Portugal has ended its Golden Visa residency program for property investors. This announcement came just a week after Ireland terminated of its ‘Golden Visa’ Immigrant Investor Program.
Both countries introduced Golden Visas in 2012, as did Spain, as they struggled to recover from the global financial crisis. The aim was to prevent banking collapse by bringing foreign money into their real estate markets.
Christmas Eve marked the moment the UK finally reached a Brexit agreement with the EU, full details of which have now been published. The so called ‘Free Trade Agreement: a new economic and social partnership with the United Kingdom’, is of most interest to UK nationals living in Spain and other EU countries, those planning to and those with other interests such as business or a holiday home.
The agreement covers not just trade in goods and services, but also a broad range of other areas such as, tax transparency, air and road transport, energy and sustainability, fisheries, data protection, and social security coordination.
Notable points for UK nationals in Spain or other EU countries in the agreement are that:
The TIE, Tarjeta de Indentidad de Extranjero, is the Spanish identification card for citizens from third countries (non-EU) who reside in Spain. Since July 2020 British UK nationals moving to Spain have also had to apply for this card, as the UK is no longer in the EU.
If you already have a Spanish residency certificate, you do not have to apply for the TIE, but you can voluntarily exchange your certificate for the card.
Both the Spanish and UK Government websites and their Consulate pages confirm that the green residency certificate, A4 and credit card sized, remain valid for UK nationals and prove the holders residency and retained rights under the withdrawal agreement, having settled in Spain before the UK left the EU. However considering the issues some have encountered during the recent Covid19 travel restrictions, e.g. multiple incidences of authorities and airlines not understanding the rules and denying certificate holders entry to Spain, it is advisable to get the TIE.
Aside from this the card is a full bio-metric national ID card, therefore so much more useful than the paper certificate. The card also has the words ARTICULO 50 TUE, a reference to note that the holder was resident in Spain before the end of the transition period and has retained rights.
