How to Get Residency in Spain in 2026: Routes After the Golden Visa

How to Get Residency in Spain in 2026: Routes After the Golden Visa

Spain remains one of Europe's most sought-after places to live, but the way in has changed. The Spain golden visa closed to new applications on 3 April 2025, when Organic Law 1/2025 removed the investor residence regime. Spain is still open to new residents through the non-lucrative visa, the digital nomad visa and the standard work, study, entrepreneur and family routes. This guide from Mirabello Consultancy explains each route, the path to permanent residence and citizenship, and the investment alternatives for those who wanted a golden visa.

What Happened to the Spain Golden Visa?

From 2013 to 2025, Spain granted residence to investors under Law 14/2013. Organic Law 1/2025 ended that regime: its twenty-first final provision left articles 63 to 67 of Law 14/2013, the investor residence articles, without content, with effect from 3 April 2025 (Boletín Oficial del Estado). The Spanish government confirmed that the change removed the benefits for residential property and for all other investments (La Moncloa).

No new applications are accepted through any investment route: property, capital investment, government bonds or funds. If you already hold a Spanish investor permit, it remains valid until its expiry date and renewals are decided under the rules that applied when it was granted; applications filed before 3 April 2025 continue under the rules in force when they were filed (ONE, Government of Spain). For the full picture, read our guide to the closure of the Spain golden visa and what it means.

Which Residency Routes Are Still Open in Spain?

The non-lucrative visa

The non-lucrative visa is the most direct route for financially independent people and retirees. You must show stable passive income sufficient to support yourself and any dependants, set by Spain as a multiple of its IPREM index, hold comprehensive private health insurance, and undertake no work in Spain. Because the income threshold is revised with the index, we confirm the current figure for your household at consultation. The route requires genuine residence, which generally makes you a Spanish tax resident, with worldwide income and wealth-tax implications that should be structured before you move.

The digital nomad visa

The digital nomad visa, formally international teleworking residence, suits remote employees and freelancers whose employers or clients are outside Spain. It carries its own income, qualification and health-insurance requirements, and some holders may qualify for Spain's special tax regime for inbound workers, subject to its conditions.

Work, study, entrepreneur and family routes

Employment routes, including the highly qualified professional permit, student routes, the entrepreneur route for innovative business projects, and family reunification all remain open. Each has its own thresholds and documentation, and consular requirements are published by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

What Is the Path to Permanent Residency and Citizenship?

After a qualifying period of continuous legal residence, you can apply for long-term residence. Spanish nationality by residence is governed by Article 22 of the Civil Code: the general period is ten years of legal, continuous residence immediately before the application, reduced to two years for nationals by origin of Ibero-American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea and Portugal, and for Sephardim. Applicants must also show good civic conduct and a sufficient degree of integration into Spanish society. The type of permit you hold does not change these periods.

What Are the Golden Visa Alternatives for Investors in 2026?

If your goal was specifically a European residence permit obtained through investment, Spain no longer offers one, but several programmes do. The EU programmes below are open to non-EU/EEA/Swiss nationals only; EU, EEA and Swiss citizens already have free-movement rights and cannot use them.

• Portugal Golden Residence Permit: qualifying investment funds from €500,000, or arts and cultural heritage from €250,000 (€200,000 in low-density areas). The property route has been eliminated.
• Greece Golden Visa: property from €800,000 (Zone A), €400,000 (Zone B) or €250,000 (commercial-to-residential conversion and heritage restoration). It grants residence, not citizenship.
• Malta Permanent Residence Programme: €99,000 in government fees plus property, purchased from €375,000 or leased from €14,000 a year, anywhere in Malta or Gozo.

Beyond the EU, the UAE Golden Visa offers a tax-efficient base from AED 2 million in property, and for those who want a second citizenship outright, Caribbean programmes such as St Kitts and Nevis deliver a passport in months rather than years. Compare the full field on our golden visa programmes hub.

How Can Mirabello Consultancy Help?

Mirabello Consultancy has guided many former Spain golden visa candidates to residence in Portugal, Greece, Malta or the UAE, and advises clients moving to Spain itself on the right visa and on tax structuring before the move. We assess your mobility goals, family and tax position, and recommend the route that genuinely fits. Book a free consultation to start.