Golden Visa: will it affect sales?

Real estate agents on the Costa del Sol are angry about the Government’s decision to eliminate the Golden Visa, a measure of tax benefits approved in 2013 that allows foreigners residing outside the European Union who invest more than €500,000 in real estate to obtain a residence permit in Spain.

The province of Málaga and more specifically the Golden Triangle (Marbella, Estepona and Benahavís) is one of the areas that has attracted the most investment.

“This is bad news for foreign investment and, more specifically, for residential tourism, a strategic sector in Malaga which has become the main generator of employment and wealth and which also helps to combat seasonality”, explained Manuel Burgos vice-president of the DOM3 association, which brings together 40 companies that generate more than 2,500 direct jobs, to SER Malaga.

Only 7% apply for residency

However, it should be noted that only 7 per cent of foreigners who buy on the Costa del Sol apply for residency and the largest markets for high-end housing on the Costa del Sol, where more than 90 per cent of investors come from Central and Western Europe.

Since the Golden Visa was introduced in Spain, the country that has received the most visas has been China with 2,712, followed by Russia with 1,159 so it is likely that the abolition of the visa will have only limited impact.