08/01/2025
The lawmakers responsible for the European Golden Visa programs were busy over the festive season, with a flurry of updates and changes being announced.
The biggest news comes from Spain, where the proposal to close the Golden Visa program has been written into law. The King signed the bill on January 3rd, and a transition period of three months was announced. For those currently in the process of applying, you have until April 3rd to complete your application. It’s crucial to ensure that your immigration consultant, lawyers, and property agents are all working towards this deadline. If you haven’t spoken to them yet this year, now is the time to do so.
In more welcome news, the authorities in Portugal have announced a series of measures aimed at clearing the backlog of applications awaiting biometric appointments. Much of the process has now been automated and can be completed online. While this is undoubtedly good news, it may also mean things will move much faster than you expected. In some cases, you may need to prepare new supporting documents. If you have an application that has been submitted but not yet approved, your legal representative in Portugal should have already contacted you. If not, you should reach out to them to determine whether any action is required on your part.
Greece changed its rules regarding what qualifies as a Golden Visa property back in August last year. Anyone who had placed a 10% deposit by that date had until December 31st to complete their purchase and still qualify under the previous regulations. This deadline has now been extended to February 28th of this year. Approximately 3,000 real estate purchases, totaling €750 million, were at risk of falling through because they would not have met the original deadline.
Hungary launched its Golden Visa program in the second half of last year with a single investment option: €250,000 into real estate funds. January 1st was expected to mark the introduction of a second option—investing €500,000 directly into real estate. However, just days before this was due to come into effect, the government reversed its decision and removed this option entirely.
If you’d like to discuss any investment migration programs and explore how they might work for you and your family, please don’t hesitate to drop me a message.