By Christopher Clover
AS Panorama Properties is Marbella’s longest-established real estate agency, we have a clear perspective on the impact of Spain’s Golden Visa ending in April 2025.
Nearly a year later, early speculation that the property market would shift overnight has subsided. In reality, the programme’s removal has been less a dramatic pivot and more the closure of one specific route used by a relatively narrow buyer segment.
At the luxury end of the Marbella market where we focus, the fundamentals remain intact: sustained international demand, limited supply in established neighbourhoods, and a buyer profile that typically takes a long-term view.
What has changed is how certain non-EU buyers structure time in Spain and approach residency planning.
What Spain removed — and what it did not
Introduced in 2013, the Golden Visa allowed non-EU nationals to obtain Spanish residency through qualifying investment, including property purchases of at least €500,000 excluding mortgages.
Its removal does not mean Spain has closed its doors to international residents. It simply means property ownership is no longer a direct residency shortcut.
Existing Golden Visa holders retain their valid status. The change is not retroactive.
Spain also continues to offer alternative residency pathways. What has ended is the ability to combine property acquisition and residency approval within a single transaction.
Three principal routes remain:
• Non-Lucrative Visa, for financially independent individuals who do not intend to work in Spain.
• Digital Nomad Visa, for remote workers employed by non-Spanish companies, requiring proof of income and contractual stability.
• Entrepreneur or Start-Up Visa, for people behind innovative projects demonstrating economic value to Spain.
Property ownership alone no longer grants residency, but it can perfectly coexist alongside these legal pathways.
From a tax standpoint, Spain’s 183-day rule remains central. Visa type does not automatically determine tax residency; however, spending more than 183 days in Spain, or having primary economic or family ties here, may trigger tax residence.
The practical shift is therefore precise. Buyers must now separate property strategy from immigration planning. The purchase itself remains straightforward.
The 90-day Schengen limit
For non-EU nationals without residency, time in Spain is governed by the Schengen short-stay rule: 90 days within any rolling 180-day period across the entire Schengen Area.
This is where the impact is most visible.
Extended winter stays, school holidays or multi-country European travel can exceed the permitted allowance more quickly than expected. The rule itself is unchanged, but enforcement is becoming more systematic as the EU moves toward fully digital entry and exit tracking.
For buyers who do not require residency, the issue is not restriction but precision. Time in Europe must be structured carefully.
Why luxury buyers are typically less affected
As Marbella luxury property experts, we observe that prime buyers are generally less exposed to the Golden Visa’s removal than mid-market investors.
At the top end of the market, purchases are rarely driven by residency mechanics. They are motivated by long-term lifestyle considerations: year-round liveability, privacy, established infrastructure, international schooling and secure family use.
Where residency is required, it is addressed professionally alongside the acquisition rather than driving it.
Many luxury buyers also divide their year between multiple jurisdictions. Marbella is often one base among several. With appropriate planning, that pattern frequently remains compliant within the 90-day framework.
Mid-market investors, by contrast, were more likely to value the programme’s simplicity: invest €500,000 and obtain residency flexibility.
Putting the Golden Visa in perspective
Context is essential.
Among non-resident foreign buyers in Spain between 2023 and 2025:
• Approximately 67–68% were EU/EEA nationals
• Approximately 32–33% were non-EU/EEA nationals
Over the lifetime of the programme from 2013 to April 2025, cumulative analyses indicate that only around 7% of non-EU non-resident buyers obtained a Golden Visa.
In broader terms, the programme accounted for approximately 0.3–0.5% of total residential transactions in Spain.
While politically visible, its direct contribution to overall property sales was modest.
How buyers are adapting
The response has been recalibration rather than retreat.
Buyers are separating acquisition from residency strategy. Property decisions are based on market fundamentals, while immigration planning reflects intended time in Spain.
Travel planning has become more deliberate. Days within Schengen are tracked carefully, longer stays organised in compliant blocks, and family travel coordinated to avoid unintended overstays.
Legal and tax advisers are engaged earlier, particularly where buyers intend to exceed 90 days in Spain, enrol children in local schools, or structure international assets efficiently.
This reflects increased professionalisation rather than weakening demand.
Key questions for buyers
Regulatory change often generates disproportionate noise.
The relevant questions are practical:
• How much time will you genuinely spend in Spain each year?
• Is formal residency required, or is structured 90/180 management sufficient?
• Are schooling, business or tax considerations involved?
When addressed early, clarity replaces uncertainty.
As a leading luxury Marbella real estate agency, Panorama has guided international buyers for over five decades. Markets evolve, but demand for prime Marbella property remains resilient.
Please note that we are not immigration advisers, and anyone considering residency or tax structuring should consult a qualified lawyer or tax professional specialising in Spanish residency matters.
Panorama Properties has been advising international buyers in Marbella’s luxury property market since 1970. As Marbella’s longest established real estate agency, we provide strategic guidance through every stage of acquisition in the greater Marbella area.
Contact us today on WhatsApp: (+34) 952 822 111 or email: info@panorama.es
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