Spain’s residence permit for investors ended on 3 April 2025, when Organic Law 1/2025 came into force. A year later the closure looks less like an isolated decision and more like the clearest example of a route that European governments have been narrowing for a decade.
The number that ended the scheme
The Spanish government’s own framing did the work. It reported that 94 of every 100 golden visas granted were linked to real estate purchases rather than to business investment or job creation. A program sold as inward investment was functioning as a property channel, and it was repealed as housing policy rather than tax policy.
That distinction matters for anyone assessing the remaining programs. Schemes defensible as productive investment have survived. Schemes that resolve to buying a home have not.
What is left in the European Union
The European Commission’s page on investor citizenship schemes records 12 member states operating residence by investment, alongside a much smaller number that have granted nationality outright. The Commission has treated citizenship schemes as the graver problem, on grounds of security, money laundering and corruption, because nationality carries free movement across the whole union.
Portugal continues to operate a residency route for investors on published statutory terms. Anyone comparing programs should read the current official text rather than a summary, because qualifying routes have been amended repeatedly and advisory sites lag the legislation by years.
Programs defensible as productive investment have survived. Programs that resolve to buying a home have not.
Rich & Richer
The planning lesson
Residency routes are policy instruments, not products, and they are withdrawn on political timetables rather than commercial ones. Spain announced its intention in April 2024 and closed the route almost exactly a year later. A plan that depends on a single jurisdiction’s program still being open in five years is a plan with a legislative risk nobody priced.
It is the same lesson visible in the way wealthy families have been spreading residency options across jurisdictions rather than concentrating them, and in the rotation through European destinations over the past several years.
Frequently asked questions
Did Spain end its golden visa?
Yes. Organic Law 1/2025 came into force on 3 April 2025 and repealed the residence permit for investors, including the real estate route.
Why did Spain close the scheme?
The government framed it as housing policy. It said 94 of every 100 golden visas granted were tied to real estate investment rather than productive investment.
Do other EU countries still offer residence by investment?
Yes. The European Commission records 12 member states operating residence by investment schemes, though terms differ widely and several have been narrowed.
What is the difference between residence and citizenship by investment?
Residence by investment grants a residence permit. Citizenship by investment grants nationality, and with it EU citizenship, which is why the Commission has treated it as the more serious concern.