After Portugal, Spain abolishes Golden Visas for Moroccans

Spain has followed Portugal’s lead in ending its residency program for investors and entrepreneurs, known as the ‘golden visa’ (golden visa). Launched in 2013 with the aim of revitalizing the Spanish economy by attracting foreign investment, this program gives non-European investors the opportunity to obtain a renewable residence and work permit in exchange for a minimum amount of 500,000 euros invested in real estate or in a Spanish company.

The end of the golden visa, a government decision that had a profound impact on investment flows from Morocco to Spain. In 2018, Moroccans were the leading non-European foreign investors in the Spanish property market, with more than 3,600 acquisitions. However, this dynamic declines sharply and experiences a significant decline, and Moroccans found themselves in the third position among the most active nationalities in this market in 2023.

The end of the Golden Visa program could cause a big change in the investment behavior of Moroccans in Spain. Some may be encouraged to return their capital to Morocco, especially with the announcement by the Foreign Exchange Office regarding the operation of voluntary regularization of assets and liquidity abroad. Tax experts see this as an opportunity to exploit.

This operation, which continues until the end of 2024, offers an additional opportunity for Moroccan investors to review their investments and review their investment strategies at the international level.

To that end, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that “ housing is a right, not a speculative activity”.

Previously, Spain’s Golden Visa offered a three-year residence and work permit to non-EU investors and their families for the purchase of a property with a minimum value of €500,000.

According to Sanchez, 94% of the visas issued under this program were related to real estate investment, mostly in big cities where the market is already tough.