Spain’s decision to abolish its property Golden Visa did not happen in isolation. Across Europe, residence-by-investment programmes have been closing, narrowing or moving away from real estate, under pressure from the European institutions and from domestic housing politics. A wealthy family that wants European residence tied to an investment now navigates a shrinking and shifting map, and the right route depends far more on their goals than on any league table of programmes.
The direction of travel
The clear trend is away from granting residence simply for buying property. Some countries have ended their programmes, others have removed the real-estate route while keeping investment or fund options, and the European level continues to press against citizenship-for-sale in particular. Any family planning around these routes has to assume they will keep tightening, not loosen, and should avoid building a plan around a programme that may not exist in its current form next year.
What still exists, broadly
Versions of residence-by-investment persist in parts of Europe, typically now oriented toward funds, business investment or job creation rather than a simple home purchase, and often with genuine physical-presence or activity expectations attached. The headline that a passport or permit can be bought cheaply is mostly out of date; what remains tends to ask for real capital deployed in defined ways, and sometimes real presence.
The era of buying a flat and getting a permit is closing across Europe. What remains asks for real capital, real activity, and often real presence.
The question behind the question
Most families who ask about Golden Visa alternatives do not actually want a visa; they want the thing the visa was a proxy for, whether that is the freedom to spend time in Europe, a base for the family, a tax position, or a hedge. Once the real goal is named, the answer is often not a residence-by-investment programme at all but a residence route plus a structure, which is usually more durable and less exposed to political reversal.
Build the base, not the shortcut
For a family whose real aim is a European foothold with a sensible tax and succession position, the better plan is frequently an ordinary residence in a chosen country combined with a proper holding and estate structure, of the kind we describe across our work on family office structuring and cross-border succession. Spain remains entirely open to living and investing, as we set out in our note on Spain ending the Golden Visa; it simply asks, like the rest of Europe now, that the base be built deliberately rather than bought as a shortcut.
Montclare advises international individuals and families on buying, holding and moving to Spain: the structure, the tax, the residence and the succession, handled as one plan. Our services are set out on our services page.
This article is informational and does not constitute tax, legal or immigration advice. Spanish regimes vary by region and change frequently, and treatment depends on personal circumstances. Each engagement is subject to scope and applicable regulation.