The Spanish residence permit program by investment was launched in 2013. According to its terms, investors choose one of the options: buy real estate, securities, open a deposit in a Spanish bank or invest in a business. The minimum investment amount is €500,000.
Investors do not need to take language and cultural exams. Also, they are not required to spend time in Spain, and the law allows investment property to be rented out.
Investments under the program can be returned. To do this, you need to live in Spain for five years and obtain permanent residence status. After another five years of living in the country, you can apply for citizenship, but on the condition that you give up the first one.
Possibilities
Benefits of a residence permit in Spain
1
Visa-free travel to the Schengen countries
Investors with a residence permit in Spain visit other Schengen countries without a visa and spend up to 90 days every six months.
2
Moving to Spain and creating a “safe haven”
A residence permit allows you to go to Spain at any time, even if the borders are closed. At the same time, the investor has no obligation to reside in Spain: the country needs to be visited only to extend the residence permit.
3
Access to European education and healthcare
Investor’s children get the right to study in Spanish schools and universities, both private and public. The whole family can receive quality medical services in the clinics of the Schengen countries.
4
Opportunity to work and conduct business in Spain
An investor and his family members can obtain a work permit in Spain. Entrepreneurs get the right to transfer their business to Spain or create a new company.
5
Citizenship of an EU country in 10 years
After five years of residence in the country, an investor can obtain permanent residence, and after another five years, apply for Spanish citizenship.
in a registered or civil marriage, including same-sex couples
Children under 18
Children over 18
no age limit
not married
have no children of their own
financially dependent on the investor or are under his guardianship due to mental or physical characteristics
Investor or spouse’s parents
financially dependent
no age limit
Budget
Costs for an investor
Spain offers investors six options to choose from. Buying a property is the option that requires the least investment.
In addition to investments, applicants for a residence permit need to confirm their financial solvency. An amount that is at least 4 times the annual minimum wage must be transferred to a Spanish bank account. For 2022, the minimum wage in Spain is €6,778.8 per year, so you need to transfer from €27,000 to the account. Approximately €7,000 must be added for each dependent.
1Option investment
Purchase of real estate
€500,000+
An investor buys residential or commercial property in Spain. If they include family members in the application, the amount of investment will not increase.
The owner of real estate can be the investor himself or the company in which he is the controlling shareholder and owns most of its shares. If they buy commercial premises on behalf of the company, they can get a tax deduction and return the paid VAT in the amount of 21%.
With a sum of €500,000 an investor can buy one or more properties. The law does not have a rule where the entire amount must be invested in one object. Real estate is allowed to be rented out, and sold after the obtaining of permanent residence.
Purchase of real estate
€500,000
Taxes
For new buildings
7 to 12% of the transaction amount
For secondary housing
6 to 10% of the cadastral value
For commercial real estate
Up to 25%
Notary fee
€600 to €1,000
Registration fee
€400 to €650
2Option investment
Opening a deposit in Spanish bank
€1,000,000+
3Option investment
Purchase of shares of Spanish companies
€1,000,000+
4Option investment
Purchase of shares of investment or venture funds
€1,000,000+
5Option investment
Purchase of government bonds
€2,000,000+
6Option investment
Business investments
The minimum investment amount is not established by law
Individual calculation of the cost of residence permit in Spain
Get an individual calculation for your family with all associated costs and government fees
Differences between residence permits by investment and for financially independent persons
A residence permit for financially independent persons is received in Spain by those who have passive remote income, as well as housing in Spain: real estate owned or rented for a period of one year.
To obtain an annual residence permit, you need to confirm financial solvency. The applicant's account in a Spanish bank must have at least €27,000. An additional €7,000 is required for each family member.
Criteria
Residence permit by investment
Residence permit for financially independent persons
Obligatory residing in the country
Not required
183 days a year
Eligibility to work in Spain
Yes
No
Need to obtain a D visa
No
Yes
Validity of residence permit
2 years, then 5 years
1 year
Stages and terms
Step-by-step procedure for obtaining a residence permit in Spain for purchase of real estate
1 day
Preliminary check
Preliminary check
1 day
Preliminary Due Diligence is carried out by our certified Anti Money Laundering Officer. This is a mandatory step: we do not sign an agreement with the investor until the results are obtained. The verification allows you to identify potential problems and reduce the risk of refusal of a residence permit to 1%.
The results are confidential and will only be used by Immigrant Invest lawyers to assist the investor in obtaining approval for the program. To perform the verification, only the investor’s passport is needed.
1 to 4 months
Purchase of real estate
Purchase of real estate
1 to 4 months
Real estate specialists help the investor to find a suitable object. The investor either comes to Spain to inspect the object in person, or chooses it remotely according to photo and video reports specialists.
A lawyer acts on behalf of the investor in Spain, so the first step is to sign a power of attorney. It can be signed remotely, certified, apostilled and sent to Spain.
By proxy, the lawyer receives an individual taxpayer number for the investor, then checks the legal purity of the transaction and prepares the documents. The sale and purchase agreement can be signed by the investor himself or by a lawyer, who will also submit the registration agreement to the land registry and receive a certificate.
3 to 5 weeks
Preparation and submission of documents
Preparation and submission of documents
3 to 5 weeks
Documents are prepared simultaneously with the selection and purchase of real estate. The investor receives medical insurance, provides Immigrant Invest lawyers with copies of the passport and certificates the marriage and birth of children. Lawyers fill out government forms, translate documents, certify copies, and help pay fees and taxes.
According to the terms of the program, at the time of applying for a residence permit, the investor needs to be in Spain. You can enter the country with a Schengen visa. The application itself is submitted online, this is done by lawyers on behalf of the investor.
After submitting the application, the investor and his family members who are included in the application must be fingerprinted by the police. This procedure is also accompanied by lawyers.
Up to 20 days
Obtaining residence permit cards
Obtaining residence permit cards
Up to 20 days
An application for a residence permit in Spain is considered up to 20 days. The investor receives a residence permit card in Spain personally. Lawyers accompany the investor to the police, where the cards are issued.
After 2 years, then after 5 years
Renewal of a residence permit
Renewal of a residence permit
After 2 years, then after 5 years
The first residence permit card in Spain is issued for two years, then the status can be extended for five years. To extend the residence permit, the investor needs to go to Spain.
Obtaining Spanish citizenship
There is no way to obtain Spanish citizenship directly by investment. An investor can become a Spanish citizen by naturalization: get a residence permit in Spain by investment, move to the country, get permanent residence in a few years, and only after that apply for citizenship.
To obtain permanent residence in Spain, you need to continuously live in the country for at least 5 years with a residence permit. You can not be absent from the country for more than 10 months for the entire period. It is not recommended to frequently travel outside the country and leave Spain for more than three consecutive months.
When applying, you will need to confirm financial solvency, the availability of housing in Spain and medical insurance. When making a decision, the investor’s law-abiding nature, the degree of his integration into Spanish society are taken into account, it is also checked whether he filed tax returns every year and paid taxes in full.
Permanent residence status is issued for life, and the resident card is renewed every five years.
To obtain Spanish citizenship, adult applicants need to live in a country with a residence permit or permanent residence status for at least 10 years and pass two exams:
DELE for knowledge of Spanish at level A2 or higher;
CCSE for knowledge of the cultural and legal life of Spain.
In Spain, it is forbidden to have several citizenships at once, so you will have to give up your first citizenship. Citizens of three European countries — France, Portugal and Andorra, — as well as of several countries of Latin America, in which Spanish is recognized as the official language, are an exception to the rule.
Children of Spanish citizens under the age of 18 are automatically entitled to Spanish citizenship. Children are exempted from taking exams.
A child can acquire Spanish citizenship at birth if at least one of his parents is a Spanish citizen. The place of birth of the child does not matter.
If the parents changed their citizenship to Spanish, their child can become a Spanish citizen within two years of the event. The period of the child’s residence in Spain does not matter.
Children born in Spain do not automatically acquire the citizenship of the country, or by right of soil. They can become citizens of Spain after a year of living in the country with a residence permit: for this, at least one of the child’s parents must also have a residence permit in the country.
Schedule a meeting in one of the offices or online. A lawyer will analyze the situation, calculate the cost and help you find a solution based on your goals.
Who can get a residence permit in Spain by investment?
An adult legally abiding investor who is not a citizen of the European Union. He can include family members in the application: a spouse, children and parents.
How much do you need to invest to get a residence permit in Spain?
In securities, you need to invest at least €1,000,000. For this amount, you can buy shares of Spanish companies or shares of investment funds. Furthermore, to get a residence permit for the purchase of government bonds, they invest twice as much, from €2,000,000.
You can put from €1,000,000 on a deposit in a Spanish bank, and the minimum amount of investment in a business is not established by law. At the same time, the investor’s business should create jobs and contribute to the social, economic or scientific and technological development of the region.
Is it possible to return the investment?
Investments can be returned after obtaining a permanent residence permit in Spain: for this you need to continuously live in the country for more than five years.
If the investor does not plan to move to Spain, but wants to maintain the residence permit status, the investment will not be returned.
Do I need to go to Spain to get a residence permit?
Yes, in order to obtain a residence permit in Spain, the country must be visited. The personal presence of the investor and his family members is required for the submission of biometric data and upon receipt of residence permit cards.
How can an investor obtain Spanish citizenship?
To become a citizen of Spain, you need to live in the country for more than 10 years as a resident and pass two exams for knowledge of the Spanish language, cultural and legal life of Spain. In this case, you will have to give up your first citizenship.
