This measure is among the amendments made by the parliamentary group of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) to the law on judicial efficiency, approved Thursday by Congress by 179 votes for, 169 against and 0 abstentions. This amendment repeals Articles 63, 64, 65, 66 and 67 which governed the granting of golden visas for the acquisition of real estate and investments in bank deposits, public debt, shares, investment funds and general interest business projects in Spain, reports The Country.
Pending the entry into force of the new text, foreigners can continue to apply for this type of visa. “Investors or relatives of investors who have submitted the corresponding application may receive the visa or corresponding authorization in accordance with the regulations in force on the date of submission of the application,” it is specified. A situation which could lead to an increase in requests for this visa. “94 out of 100 visas of this type are linked to real estate investment,” declared President Pedro Sanchez last April.
Read: Spain removes the “golden visa”, Moroccans affected
According to data provided in April by the Minister of Housing and Urban Agenda, Isabel Rodríguez, 14,576 golden visas linked to investments in real estate have been granted since 2013 to Moroccan, Chinese, Russian, British and American nationals. , Ukrainian, Iranian, Venezuelan and Mexican. The provinces of Barcelona, Madrid, Malaga, Alicante, the Balearic Islands and Valencia absorb 90% of these foreign investments throughout the national territory, the minister said.
The official further indicated that the purchase of housing by foreigners increased significantly in the last quarters of 2023. This type of investment “puts a lot of pressure on the market, increases the price of houses and promotes speculation” , she noted, noting that the government’s objective in abolishing these golden visas is to put an end to “speculation which has increased very significantly” since 2022, the year when the number of golden visas granted doubled.
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