Spain has followed Portugal’s lead in ending its residency program for investors and entrepreneurs, known as the ‘golden visa’ (golden visa). Launched in 2013 with the aim of reinvigorating the Spanish economy by attracting foreign investment, this program gives non-European investors the opportunity to obtain a renewable residence and work permit in exchange for a minimum amount of 500,000 euros. invested in real estate or in a Spanish company.
The end of the golden visa, a government decision which had a profound impact on investment flows from Morocco to Spain. In 2018, Moroccans were the leading non-European foreign investors in the Spanish real estate market, with more than 3,600 acquisitions. However, this dynamic is plummeting and experiencing a notable decline, with Moroccans finding themselves in third position among the most active nationalities in this market in 2023.
The end of the Golden Visa program could induce a major change in the investment behavior of Moroccans in Spain. Some could be encouraged to repatriate their capital to Morocco, especially with the announcement from the Foreign Exchange Office concerning a voluntary regularization operation for assets and liquidity held abroad. Tax experts see this as an opportunity to seize.
This operation, which continues until the end of 2024, offers an additional opportunity for Moroccan investors to reconsider their investments and reassess their investment strategies on an international scale.
To this end, the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, announced that “ housing is a right, not a speculative activity”.
Previously, the Spanish Golden Visa offered a three-year residence and work permit to non-EU investors and their families for the purchase of a property with a minimum value of 500,000 euros.
According to Sánchez, 94% of visas issued under this program were linked to real estate investment, mainly in large cities where the market is already tight.
