As part of large-scale sanctions against Russia, the Spanish government has suspended the issuance of “golden visas” for Russian citizens. The decision taken by the Spanish government was quoted by local media and raised the question of how long such investor visas will “live” in Europe.
Spain started working on “golden visas” in 2013. Under the scheme, tourists from third countries, including Russia, bought a Spanish property worth 500,000 euros, received a residence permit for a period of 5 years with the possibility of its extension. In the period from 2013 to 2020, about a thousand Russian citizens received PRC (Permanent Residence Certificate). Thus, they were the second largest number of people willing to invest in Spain. The Chinese were the first. During the same period, they received more than 8,000 visas.
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In 2021, when the world was still gripped by a coronavirus pandemic, the Russians bought 159 properties in Spain to obtain a residence permit, ahead of the Americans (115) and the Chinese (57). The Russians bought real estate mainly in the Mediterranean city of Alicante, the beach resort town of Malaga and the capital Barcelona.
By the way, according to Transparency International, so far the country in the Pyrenees has been one of those who approved the most “golden visas”. By suspending their issuance to the Russians, Spain lost its second major source of investment and, consequently, a huge share of profits. Earlier, some other countries, including Britain and Portugal, announced the suspension of “golden visa” programs for Russians. We will add that the majority of the countries which have imposed sanctions against the Russian Federation, are unmoved, and are ready to partial loss of profits.
Certificate. The market for gold passports and visas has grown rapidly since the 2008 financial crisis as countries sought to stimulate foreign investment.
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Spain is one of the 12 EU countries – Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands and Portugal – that provide investment-based PRCs.