Why start planning your Golden Visa application now?
Spanish President Pedro Sanchez announced last Saturday, May 23 that state of alarm is expected to finalize during the third week of June and, accordingly, Spanish Consulates will resume receiving visa applications while travel restrictions to Spain will be progressively reverted.
So now is the best time to start planning your investment and gathering the necessary documentation.
While COVID-19 may have paralyzed the world, it does not need to stop you from obtaining your Spanish Golden Visa, your gateway to Spanish residency and nationality. The Spanish Investor’s Visa, better known as the Golden Visa, requires a significant investment in Spain through one of the following options:
- An initial investment for a value equal to or greater than one million euros bank deposits in financial entities Spanish.
- An initial investment for a value equal to or greater than 2 million euros in Spanish public debt securities
- An initial investment for a value equal to or greater than one million euros in shares or social participations of Spanish companies
- The acquisition of real estate in Spain with an investment value equal to or greater than 500,000 euros.
As a result of COVID-19 and its impact on tourism, we have seen an influx of properties entering the market in prime tourist areas in major Spanish cities. This opens an opportunity to purchase one of these properties at a low price, either to have as a second home in Spain (ideal to work from home!) or to rent out.
While purchasing a property may be the most popular option since the start of the law in September 2013, there is no doubt that the quickest option to complete the significant investment requirement is the investment of one million euros in a Spanish bank account. There is no due diligence necessary; it is a question of selecting your Spanish banking entity and complete anti-money laundering provisions, thereby allowing you to transfer the funds.
If you do decide that the real estate investment is your best option, the process of purchasing a property in Spain (link!) is very simple, but we recommend starting to gather the documentation now to speed the process up once the authorities reopen borders.
There are a few key things to keep in mind for the investment process, all of which you can prepare before your trip to Spain:
- You will require a Foreigner’s Identification Number (known in Spanish as NIE). This does not require your physical presence in Spain, as a representative with a Power of Attorney can obtain the NIE on your behalf.
- You can already start reviewing properties, as you should complete the due diligence before putting in an offer.
- The investment in real estate requires a Spanish bank account. While the activation of the account requires appearing directly at the bank in Spain, you can select the bank and start coordinating with them to prepare the anti-money laundering documentation to open the bank account. When you arrive to Spain, you will simply need to appear with the original documents and have your account activated without any delays.
As you will have everything prepared with time to spare, once the travel restrictions are lifted in the upcoming weeks, you will be able to travel to Spain with everything in hand to complete the mandatory in-person procedures in the shortest time possible.
At GD Global Mobility, we can assist to assist you with the investment and the Golden Visa application, allowing you to obtain your residency and be on the road to Spanish nationality.
