The Congress of Deputies (Spanish parliament) has voted in favour of abolishing the Golden Visa programme in Spain which had allowed hundreds of Britons to settle in the country post Brexit with minimal paperwork problems. The proposal to end the Residency by Investment scheme of Spain was passed with 177 votes in favour and 170 against Schengen.News reports.
The easiest way to get a Golden Visa as to buy a property which had to be valued at more than 500,000 euros. This was the route favoured by many Britons and citizens from other countries outside the European Union.
The Senate vetoed the initiative to abolish the Golden Visa Programme; however, after receiving an absolute majority in Congress, the veto has been lifted, and the regulation is now ready to become effective once it is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE).
The regulation was at first approved by the Congress of Deputies in November and then moved forward in the parliamentary process upon reaching the Senate. However, on December 2, the Spanish Senate vetoed the bill that would put an end to the Golden Visa Programme.
The bill was batted back to Congress after the Popular Party (PP), holding a majority in the Spanish Senate, pushed through the veto.
Based on the committee report, the veto proposed by the PP and approved by the Senate argued a lack of adequate legislative technique and also a lack of planning and order, therefore leading to the simultaneous processing of two bills affecting the same laws and creating not only confusion but also a serious threat to legal certainty.
The PP party also argued that Spanish law “provides safeguards for citizens against disorganised and abusive actions by the executive powers”.
The party also claimed that “Parliament cannot passively accept all kinds of tactics and strategies that harm those it represents, nor approve poorly structured legislative containers that are amended repeatedly to correct inconsistencies, omissions, and contradictions characteristic of the chosen legislative approach,” quoted by Idealista.
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Sardinia is the new Majorca.
ChrisThat's right, and when the government allows anyone in, just because they have money, you'll have a situation like in Marbella with criminals from all over the world, gun fights in the street etc
JackyOpen your eyes, Jacky This isn't a "Mallorca" thing. It's Spain. And it has nothing to do with keeping Brits out. It's because foreign investment in Spain is no longer something Spain has to beg for - it's grown substantially in the past decade. Spain is now amongst the highest growth in Europe, and rates amongst the top 20 in the world. And foreign property buying is at highest levels in recent history (EU and non-EU) It's the whole reason for the property price boom. There's simply no more need for the "golden visa" anymore. It has outlasted its usefulness. And frankly, Brits are amongst the smaller of the beneficiaries anyway. Much ado about nothing. But it makes for good ol' English tabloid clickbait.
Same old same old how many more times. I thought we were done with this, its been out there long enough.
It´s unfortunate but True regarding the maunuvering of the PSOE to try to influence the political situation in Spain & the Balearics it is also true that the rich Brit´s opt for the south of France or Italy as has been said most of these Golden Visas have been obtained from Russian or Chinese who´s Motive´s are less than transparent . Politic´s in Mallorca are also very complex and never clear cut or transparent .
This article (same as others before it on this topic) implies that the main victims of the suspension of the Golden Visa program are British. That is not the case as 80% of golden visa applications in Spain have been from Chinese and Russian citizens.
Sometimes I think the MDB won’t be happy until the entire population of the UK is resident on Mallorca.
The last dying acts of a failing PSOE coalition. Classic example of hold on to power at all costs regardless of the collateral damage done....
Its absolutely bizarre that they abolish investment but open the borders to North africa. Also, having cleared Catalan national debt, you are about to pay double the iva on most staple products, including electricity...........but they bought a coalition with 10s of billions.