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.

British citizens / UK nationals now have to follow the same process as other non-EU national citizens of third countries to get Spanish residency, i.e. there is a requirement to first obtain a visa.

The financial means required for a British Citizen / UK national to obtain a residency visa, is a lot higher than it was when the UK was in the EU.  A single applicant needs to have around €30k per year in either income or savings, whereas a citizen of an EU country €6k is sufficient.

British nationals also have to obtain a police criminal report, get official supporting documents legalised, and medical certificates are also required for most visa applications.

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.

A Private Medical insurance policy for Spanish visas and residency has to provide a level of healthcare cover equivalent to that provided by the state healthcare system.  For a lot of private medical insurance providers this will mean taking out their top level fully comprehensive policy.  Co-payments policies that have much lower monthly or annual premiums and you pay a small fee when you need treatment or to see a doctor, are not acceptable.

The general requirements for Private Medical Insurance for Spanish visas and residency are much the same across all the different types of residency, however that are some differences between what’s needed for some.