Chinese and Russian citizens take these residence permits who buy a property worth 500,000 euros
The government estimates the so-called golden visas that have been issued since 2013, when the government of Mariano Rajoy introduced them for the purpose of supporting entrepreneurs. These types of permits are granted to foreign assets that meet certain requirements, such as the purchase of a home worth more than 500,000 euros.
Precisely for this reason, Más País Verdes Equo recently introduced a bill in Congress to eliminate them, as other countries such as Portugal have recently done. The argument used by the group is that this kind of investment has contributed to driving up house prices and to speculation in the market.
According to a government response to Más País’ deputy, Íñigo Errejón, 45% of these visas were issued for the benefit of Chinese citizens, a total of 2,263.
The document, which Europa Press had access to, indicates that the Russians make up about 20% of the total, with 969 visas. The executive also pointed out the visas issued to citizens of Ukraine, who obtained 2.7% of the permits, with a total of 136.
Without knowing yet whether the government will abolish these permits, the international trend towards real estate investment by foreigners is getting stronger. Earlier this year, Canada also banned the sale of homes to foreigners who do not use them as permanent homes. The aim is to drive down prices in one of the world’s most inaccessible markets, fulfilling an election promise made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeu.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
