SPAIN

Spain is in the south-western part of Europe, with a population of approximately 47 million. Its capital is Madrid, and the official language spoken is Spanish. Spanish is spoken by over 430 million worldwide. Spain uses the euro as its currency.

Spain is a member of the European Union and one of Europe’s largest economies. Spain has experienced remarkable economic growth in the last few decades to become the fourth-largest of the Eurozone. The Spanish economy has transformed into a service-based economy with strong tourism, renewable energy and banking industries.

Spain is one of the most desirable destinations in Europe due to its warm weather, vibrant lifestyle, beautiful architecture and exceptional cuisine. Spain has grown in the last decade to become the second-most touristic country in the world.

Benefits of the Spain Residence by Investment programme

The Spain Residence by Investment programme provides a temporary residence permit to investors in Spain. Investors first receive a 1-year visa in order to complete the investment if they are outside of Spain. The investor then receives a 2-year permit that will be renewed for a 5-year resident permit. After 5 years of holding a resident permit in Spain, applicants can be eligible for permanent residence. Citizenship is possible after 10 years of living in Spain.

Applicants are allowed to include their relatives in the application, such as spouses, children who are minors or those of legal age who are financially dependent on the holder, and parents in their charge.

Spain taxation can be advantageous for foreigners earning income in Spain, with the impatriate tax regime (aka the Beckham Amendment) capping the tax rate at 24%.

Commitment expectations

To apply for temporary residence through the Spain Residence by Investment programme, one of the following commitment is required:

• Purchase of real estate property of EUR 500,000 or more; or
• Invest in listed or unlisted shares for the amount of EUR 1 million; or
• Make a bank deposit for the amount of EUR 1 million; or
• Invest EUR 1 million in an investment fund of the closed-end type or venture capital funds set up in Spain; or
• Invest in Spanish public debt securities for the amount of EUR 2 million;

The investment must be held for the length of residence or until change of status (e.g. permanent residence).

Further to this, the amount of government-related administrative fees is approximately EUR 70.10 per person. A further EUR 76.36 needs to be paid per person for the renewal.

This means that the total capital outlay for a single applicant would amount to approximately EUR 500,071.10. This indicative amount excludes service providers’ professional fees and any other fees not stated herein.

The Application Process

The application process typically starts with the signing of a client agreement and a power of attorney with a service provider. This facilitates the process for the applicant, as the service provider undertakes the liaison with the different stakeholders. The process then continues with the preparation of the application and the supporting documentation. As applicants might be required to enter the country at some stage of the process, It is important to check if an ordinary entry visa will be required.

Once all the documents have been prepared, a petition to the investor programme is made at a Spanish consulate or embassy office. Once the petition has been received, the Spanish authorities take 10 working days to process the visa application. Once approved, a 1-year visa is issued in order to complete your investment option.

Once the investment has been completed, the relevant documents are sent to the Large Business and Strategic Groups Unit (UGE-CE) to issue the residence permit, which takes approximately 20 days.

Once everything is approved, the applicant and his family receive their resident permits. Permits are valid for 2 years and can be renewed by maintaining the investment.