Law granting a residence permit in Spain when purchasing expensive real estate came into force seven months ago, 27 September 2013, and during this period only 72 buyers used this opportunity, writes portal ee24.com citing the newspaper El Pais.
"Golden visa" to Spain is worth €500,000 - more than to many other European countries, but exactly the same as to Portugal. However, if Portugal issues 50 "golden visas" a month, wealthy investors' interest to Spain is 5 times less.
What is the difference between a regular residence permit in Spain, which can be requested by owner of any property, and the "golden visa"? As Ksenia Balashova, Head of Sales in Spainway, told ee24.com, in the first case is necessary to stay in Spain for at least six months in the year, while owners of "expensive" residence permits are not restricted in their movements. Moreover, Spain cannot deny an application for a "golden visa", while the decision to grant a residence permit under regular conditions can be negative.