Spain’s Smoke and Mirrors Headlines
axes 'golden visa' popular with British expats
Let’s first look at the impact of this, and who does it really impact?
This only affects those buying outside the Schengen zone, of which since Brexit the British buyers became part of those affected. Only 0.25% of real estate transactions in the whole of Spain were utilized for obtaining golden visas, so the impact on the general buyers is minimal, it was stated it was to help the stressed local marketplace of which none of those affected were in the 500,000 euro plus buying bracket. So, the announcement was only for political gain and will have a negligible effect on the general sales of property in Spain.
How does this impact the British Expat market in the Canary Islands?
In a word, it does not...
the effect of this announcement has limited impact on the property market in the Canary Islands because the marketplace is so robust and non-reliant on one single marketplace, the Canary Islands and especially Fuerteventura is melting pot of pan-European clients, from places like Germany, France, Belgium, Holland, Poland Mainland Spanish, Italy and so many more. Sensualism in headlines unless you read and understand the underlaying factors mean nothing and only looks at one side of the story.
For those expatriates / those outside the Schengen zone who have already acquired golden visas, it is unlikely that they will be revoked, especially for those who have already transitioned to permanent residency status after maintaining the visa for five years.
The other major part of the statement is that there is no timescale set yet to bring this into effect, so you would logically expect that the ones that are already in process for the application or purchase would be given to me to complete this so those that would only be affected would be those that apply after the introduction of such rule changes.
