There is no official news coming out of the government in Spain on how and when they plan to offer the residents visa to property investors. We hear through sources that ministers are still discussing. We hear the that €160,000 may not be the limit (it is under discussion) and that it will not be restricted by country. Amongst the rumours at the moment is that it will be offered for multiple properties and we are hearing from several sources, without any great assertion I have to say, that something will be forthcoming in February! Unfortunately there is not much more we can do at present. But please feel free to post any rumours in comments….
Golden Investor Visa Spain 
I have been told that the Spanish residence visa would be different to that offered in terms of the Golden Residence Permit in Portugal. Apparently the residence permit offered in Portugal is different from that intended to be offered by Spain- the Portuguese person who told me this could not explain how different it is, but said something along the lines of the Spanish offer being inferior – they seemed to think that that it would not necessarily lead to being able to claim a passport in time, whereas the Portugal offer is quite clear that after 5 years permanent residence is granted, then after a year one could apply for a passport if one passed language test etc. Furthermore, I understand that Spain’s offer might make it a requirement that one spends at least 183 days per year in Spain in order to qualify for the passport eventually? And I believe that Spanish law does not allow dual nationality – whereas Portugal does.
Does anyone have more information for me please. My situation is that we already have a house in Spain, we go there every year and I would far prefer to go for the Spanish option than the Portugal option, but only if I can eventually qualify for a passport AND I don’t need to live there permanently OR renounce my South African citizenship. I would like to make a decision soon and the lack of information from the Spanish Govt is worrying. Any ideas or advice please?
Thanks Dax. I understand you can already get a residence visa in Spain without too much difficulty. I met with a visa specialist last week who actually offers this as a guarantee to clients. Now maybe not every applicant was successful but it was sufficiently succesful for them to be able to offer the guarantee. That visa requires you spend more than the 183 days in Spain. Hence I think it’s unlikely Spain would put such a restriction on any new visa offering particularly as this is being touted as an investor visa. The key reason Spain is doing this is to assist the property market. So how do you avoid mass immigration but clear hundreds of thousands of properties, most of them apartments, many in coastal holiday destinations? Logic says encourage investors who will come and go occassionally, just like so many northern Europeans currently do, but without the travel restrictions. My advice for such a big move is give it at least a month or two to see what comes up. The limit for Portugal is a lot higher at €500,000 whereas Spain is proposing the average property price of €160,000. That may make a difference.
Thanks for your reply – yes, it makes sense that they would want investors money without necessarily having to burden the state with their actual presence. Question is though: would this visa give access to free travel through Schengen countries and could it lead to applying for a passport one day? The dual nationality thing is of concern – any rumours or thoughts as to whether they might allow dual nationality? I appreciate your comments.