The new law on the "golden residence permit" in Spain (one get residence permit with the purchase of property from €500,000) brought the country an additional €3 billion of real estate investments for the year. This service (a residence permit through investment in housing) has already benefited about 2,000 foreigners, a large proportion of them – the citizens of China and Russia, ee24.com informs citing El Confidencial Digital and Noticia.ru.
The greatest demand of Chinese citizens was experienced in Madrid, where they bought housing in order to obtain an education for their children. Also foreign millionaires bought property in the Basque Country. It was noted earlier that the Russian and Chinese oligarchs purchased expensive housing in the resorts of Costa Brava, Costa del Sol and Valencia.
"Golden residence permit" in Spain (or "golden visa") is a stripped-down version of the usual residence permit: the "gold investors" have no right to work in Spain, to use the services of public health and welfare benefits. Such restrictions are associated with high levels of unemployment in the country and other economic problems.
The Spanish government entered the law in the autumn of 2013 to solve the problem of abandoned houses in Spain by foreigners. It is necessary for "golden visa" to buy a property worth more than €500,000 without attracting mortgage from Spanish banks.