If you are a citizen of a country which is a former Spanish Colony then the Spanish Golden Visa may be even more appealing. It is possible to fast track to Spanish Citizenship after just 2 years of Spanish residency, as opposed to 10 years.

The Philippines and a number of Latin American countries such as Mexico, Cuba and Dominican Republic were all once part of the Spanish Empire so citizens of these countries are eligible to fast track their applications for Spanish Citizenship. Spain is a natural choice for many investors from these countries mainly as Spanish is already their first language and the culture is very similar.

An investment of €500,000 into real estate is still required and the process for residency remains the same. Whilst there is no official stay requirement to retain the residency permit, our legal partners do advise that a continuous stay for the 2 years prior to citizenship is recommended for those going via the fast track route.

For investors originating from all other countries, a full 10 years of residency is required before applying for Spanish citizenship. If citizenship is not required, then it is possible for investors to renew their residency permit every 2 years without the need to reside in Spain. A Spanish residency permit will allow investors to travel freely throughout the EU Schengen zone, spending up to 90 days at a time in each country. For more details, please contact us.

The Spanish Golden Visa programme offers a fantastic solution to international investors looking to gain visa free Schengen travel. The Schengen zone currently consist of over 26 countries and by holding residency in any of these countries you will receive the right to travel freely across the whole Schengen state.

La Vida have a large global clientele, many of whom hold citizenship in countries which pose various travel issues for them. The tiresome process of applying for a visa every time they need to travel (for perhaps business or vacations) can be very restrictive and time consuming.

By investing €500,000 into real estate in Spain, investors will gain a residency visa giving them visa free access to the whole Schengen area. There are almost no minimum stay requirements to sustain the residency permit, just a short one day visit per year to Spain is needed. This opportunity presents investors with much greater access to Europe, allowing one to jump on a flight to Europe whenever they wish, rather than having to queue in their local embassy each time!

The 26 Schengen member countries consist of Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

A Golden Visa in Spain will allow investors to travel to any of the countries above and spend up to 90 days at a time in each one. Perfect for those looking to widen their EU travel opportunities.

For more information, please do not hesitate to contact our specialists.

Guaranteed rental schemes have been practically non existent in Spain since the recession back in 2008. But they are a huge attraction for our Spanish golden visa clients. As the market shows substantial signs of growth again, we now have one of the only guaranteed rental schemes currently available in Spain to offer.  Receive a very lucrative return of up to 4%  for 4 years on this fantastic 5* Golf Resort in Murcia, South East Spain.  Investors are also allowed to use the property for their own personal use for up to 102 days per year.  Choose from a selection of studio, 1 , 2 or 3 bedroom apartments on this prestigious resort which is surrounded by luscious greenery, mountains, trees and stunning golf course views. This fabulous location is well established and has been attracting tourists for many years. The surrounding area offers a fantastic location for a number of water sports, including wind surfing, sailing, diving and fishing; as well as many other activities such as horse-riding and mountain biking. The Murcia Region is a very popular area of Spain with over 300 days of sunshine and one of the healthiest climates in the world.

These properties would make the perfect holiday home but are equally a great investment opportunity for those looking to obtain a regular rental yield each year. A golden visa investor can purchase a portfolio of apartments here to make up the required investment of €500,000 to obtain residency in Spain.

Prices vary from €84,000 for the studio apartments to €286,500 for the 3 bedroom apartments.

Still one of the most flexible residency programmes in Europe, the Spanish golden visa scheme remains a firm favourite with many or our international investors looking for EU residency.

For most of our clients, one of their main objectives is to obtain a simple solution which will enable them to travel freely throughout the EU and Schengen zones, and the Spanish programme allows just that.  Alongside the freedom of travel, the scheme also has a number of other benefits including full family residency, the ability to work and study in Spain as well as the option to apply for citizenship after 10 years (providing you reside full time in Spain).

Spain is an incredibly popular country in general and for many, the sheer fact that the Golden Visa scheme requires a real estate investment is an attraction in itself with many of our international investors opting for either luxurious holiday homes which they can make use of themselves, or good rental opportunities in the popular city centres. Rental yields have increased significantly in the last few years and in a prime location such as Barcelona you can expect you see a ROI of around 4.8% per annum.

For further advice and a free consultation, please do not hesitate to contact our team.

2016 proved to be another successful year for La Vida, generating sales from over 40 different countries worldwide. Our team of consultants at our UK head office processed over 10,000 enquiries for the golden visa programmes, providing our clients with a wealth of initial free advice about the residency and citizenship options available.

La Vida’s network of partners also grew in 2016 and we now work with over 30 key partners throughout Europe, USA and the Caribbean. This includes real estate developers and legal firms that help support our clients with their investments and visa applications.

Our web presence remains stronger than ever through our domain www.goldenvisas.com and is continuing to grow as La Vida invests heavily in advertising and marketing. In 2016 our adverts were seen over 40 million times and our content and programme advice was viewed by over half a million readers.

Our core values remain the same as business continues to grow and La Vida offers free comprehensive and balanced advice to clients on a selection of residency and citizenship programmes via real estate investment. We have built our real estate agency presence in Europe over the last 12 years and our property selection now stretches across five countries.

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Investing for a golden visa will bring residency benefits allowing you and your family to live in Spain. But citizenship is a goal for many people bringing further advantages especially within Europe. It’s important to pick the right country programme in Europe if citizenship and a second passport is important to you. See this website for further details.

Property prices are set to rise by 12% in 2016 according to Barcelona University professor and real estate expert Gonzalo Bernardos. Writing in the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, Bernardos claims a combination of improved economy, bank lending and all time low prices could result in real estate price increase of as much as 50% by the end of the decade. Read more on our golden visas website.