Following Portugal, Spain ends Golden Visas for Moroccans

Spain has followed Portugal in ending its residency program for Moroccan investors and entrepreneurs, known as the “golden visa.”

Launched in 2013 to reinvigorate the Spanish economy by attracting foreign investment, this program grants non-European investors the opportunity to obtain a renewable residence and work permit in exchange for a minimum amount of 500,000 euros invested in real estate or a Spanish company.

The end of the golden visa, a government decision that has had a profound impact on investment flows from Morocco to Spain. In 2018, Moroccans topped the list of non-European foreign investors in the Spanish real estate market, with over 3,600 acquisitions.

However, this dynamic is tumbling down and experiencing a notable decline, with Moroccans finding themselves in third place among the most active nationalities in this market by 2023.

The end of the Golden Visa program could bring about a major change in the investment behavior of Moroccans in Spain. Some may be encouraged to repatriate their capital to Morocco, especially with the announcement by the Changes Office of an operation to voluntarily regularize assets and cash held abroad. Tax experts see this as an opportunity to be seized.

This operation, which runs until the end of 2024, provides a further opportunity for Moroccan investors to reconsider their investments and reassess their investment strategies on an international scale.

To this end, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced that “housing is a right, not a speculative activity”.

Previously, the Spanish Golden Visa offered a three-year residence and work permit to non-European investors and their families for the purchase of a property with a minimum value of 500,000 euros.

According to Sanchez, 94% of the visas issued under this program were for property investment, mainly in large cities where the market is already tight.