Spain closed its property-investment Golden Visa to new applications in April 2025. Buying a home in Spain no longer buys you the right to live in it.

I still get the question almost every week, most often from Brazilian, American and British clients. The good news is that the routes that remain fit what most of them actually want better than the Golden Visa ever did. Here is how they work in 2026.

A note on my role before we start: I advise on property, not immigration. Use this article to understand the landscape, then take advice from an immigration lawyer on your own case.

What Changed — and What Didn't

Ley Orgánica 1/2025 removed the investor residence visa from Spain's entrepreneurs law, and from 3 April 2025 no new applications have been accepted. Applications filed before that date continue under the old rules, and existing holders can still renew.

What did not change: foreigners can still buy property in Spain freely. What changed is that the purchase, on its own, is no longer a route to residence. You now choose a residence route based on how you will live — and buy the property separately.

Route 1: The Non-Lucrative Visa

This is the route for people who will live in Spain without working — retirees, people living on investments, families with passive income.

The money. In 2026 the main applicant must show 400% of Spain's IPREM benchmark: €28,800 a year. Each dependant adds €7,200.

The insurance. Private health insurance from an insurer authorised in Spain, with full cover and no copayments. Travel insurance does not qualify.

The catch. No work of any kind, and the consulate is explicit that this includes working remotely for a company abroad.

The property. Owning a Spanish home does not reduce the income requirement. The title deed helps as proof of accommodation, but the money test is met with income and savings.

The visa is issued for one year and is renewable. The renewal conditions changed with Spain's new immigration regulation, in force since May 2025, so check them with your lawyer before you plan a part-year life around this visa.

And the point most retirees miss: once you live in Spain for more than 183 days in a calendar year, or your main economic interests are here, you are a Spanish tax resident — and Spain taxes your worldwide income. Plan the tax side before you move, not after.

Route 2: The Digital Nomad Visa

This is the route for people who keep working for companies or clients outside Spain.

The money. The requirement is 200% of Spain's minimum wage. The 2026 minimum wage is €1,221 a month, which puts the threshold at about €2,442 a month. A first family member adds 75% of the minimum wage and each additional member 25% — by my calculation, about €916 and €305 a month.

The work. Employees must work for companies located outside Spain. The self-employed may take Spanish clients, as long as that work stays within 20% of their total activity.

The paperwork. The employer must have existed for at least a year, you must have worked with it for at least three months, and you need a degree or at least three years of professional experience.

The visa is issued for one year from a consulate. Applied for from inside Spain, the residence authorisation can run for up to three years.

Route 3: The Beckham Law — Tax, Not Residency

The Beckham Law is not a visa. It is a special tax regime for people who move to Spain to work, and for the right profile it transforms the economics of relocating.

Employment income is taxed at a flat 24% up to €600,000 a year, and 47% above
Only Spanish-source income is taxed under the regime
It lasts for the year you move and the following five years
You must not have been tax resident in Spain in the previous five years
You must opt in on Modelo 149 within six months of registering with Spanish Social Security

If you are relocating to work — including on a digital nomad visa — have this conversation with a tax adviser before you sign an employment or service contract. The deadline is short and it does not forgive.

For Brazilian Readers: The Two-Year Nationality Route

Spanish nationality normally requires ten years of legal, continuous residence. For nationals of Ibero-American countries — Brazil included — it is two.

That is one of the most valuable facts in Spanish immigration law for my Brazilian clients, and one of the least understood. Exactly which residence counts, and how continuity is assessed, is where an immigration lawyer earns their fee. Ask the question at the start, because it can change which visa you should choose.

If You Buy but Don't Move

Many buyers want a home in Spain, not a life in Spain. That is perfectly possible, with two things to keep in mind.

Your time in Spain is now recorded. Without a residence permit, non-EU owners are subject to Schengen short-stay limits. Since 10 April 2026, the EU's Entry/Exit System registers every entry and exit of non-EU travellers at Schengen external borders. ETIAS, the pre-travel authorisation for visa-exempt visitors, is scheduled to start in the last quarter of 2026.

You pay tax even if you never rent. Non-resident owners pay an annual imputed income tax on a Spanish home kept for their own use: 1.1% or 2% of the cadastral value, taxed at 19% for EU and EEA residents and 24% for everyone else, with no deductions.

What About the "100% Tax" on Foreign Buyers?

In January 2025 the Spanish government announced a plan to tax non-EU property buyers at up to 100% of the purchase price. By March 2026 it still had not been debated in Congress, according to Reuters.

No such tax exists today. It is worth watching, and it is not worth panicking over.

How I Would Sequence It

First, decide how you will actually live. Full-time without working points to the non-lucrative visa. Working remotely points to the digital nomad visa, often with the Beckham Law. Part-time means no visa, Schengen limits and non-resident tax.

Second, settle the visa and tax plan before you sign. Tax residency changes the cost of owning, and the Beckham Law window opens and closes quickly.

Third, choose the property to fit the plan. A home that works for a year-round life in Barcelona is not the same purchase as a summer base on the Costa Brava.

Planning a move to Spain around a property purchase? Contact us at info@weigsding-investments.com or message us on WhatsApp. We work in Portuguese, Spanish, English and French, and we work alongside immigration lawyers and tax advisers rather than pretending to be one.

This article is general information, not immigration, legal or tax advice. Visa requirements, amounts and procedures change and are applied case by case. Take advice from a Spanish immigration lawyer and tax adviser before acting.

Sources

Uría Menéndez, "Criterios aplicables en España a la renovación de la golden visa" (8 January 2026), on Ley Orgánica 1/2025
Spanish Consulate in Washington, non-lucrative residence visa requirements (2026)
BOE, Real Decreto 126/2026, fixing the 2026 minimum interprofessional wage (19 February 2026)
Spanish Consulate in Miami, international telework visa requirements; Spanish Consulate in Sydney, on telework visas and residence authorisations
Agencia Tributaria, special regime for workers posted to Spain (updated March 2026) and Modelo 149 instructions (updated June 2026)
Spanish Consulate in Santiago de Chile, Spanish nationality by residence
European Commission, "Entry/Exit System fully operational since 10 April 2026" (27 July 2026); European Commission, ETIAS information
Agencia Tributaria, tax residence of individuals (updated July 2026) and imputed income on urban property for non-residents (updated January 2026)
Reuters, "Spain's 100% non-EU property tax stalls in congress" (27 March 2026)