In a hurry to move out of the country? Head to Spain—before it’s too late.
The European nation has seen a mass migration of Americans pouring into its cities in recent years thanks to its popular golden visa program, which lets individuals gain residency through real estate investments, Bloomberg reported.
Earlier this week, though, the Spanish government confirmed that it would be terminating its residency-by-investment program for non-EU nationals on April 3, 2025—a policy that was first proposed around the same time last year. For prospective buyers, that means there’s currently less than three months to apply, and people are already moving fast so they don’t miss out on the perks.
The rate of U.S. citizens rushing to Spain to buy homes has doubled since 2014. In fact, there were 41,000 Americans populating the country as of June, which is a dramatic 39 percent spike from just three years ago. And in wake of the golden-visa termination announcement, the demand has skyrocketed in recent days, according to luxe real estate investment firm Golden Partners.
“It’s been non-stop requests,” Matt Anderson, a Mallorca-based real estate broker, told Bloomberg. Per the agent, the island has recorded a 12 percent uptick in U.S. buyers over the last year. More specifically, they noted that the sunny, warm climate and top-tier international schools were the main reasons they were relocating.
Since Spain’s golden visa program debuted over a decade ago in 2013, there have been approximately 15,000 visas issued to foreigner homeowners. To get the visa, one must invest in a property worth at least €500,000 (or $516,000) and live in the country for a minimum of five years.
The process, however, isn’t always smooth. Take Portugal, for example, which has had a hugely successful golden visa program since it was established in 2012. Most recently, a backlog has pushed applications way past the 90-day deadline, and now those who were hoping for a shot at citizenship are suing. The government has opted to restructure its program, though, instead of ending it entirely.
Tourism hot spots such as Greece and Italy have their own similar programs in place, which have also become widely attractive to Americans over the past few years. In December, New Zealand announced it would be tweaking the rules of its golden visa program in an attempt to increase the number of applications coming in. Since 2022, the nation has only issued 35 golden visas, bringing in an extra NZ$352 million. However, that’s nothing compared to the NZ$1 billion (or roughly $580 million) per year that the program used to earn.
