In short: the golden visa Spain offered to investors was abolished on 3 April 2025: the investor visa and residence authorisation can no longer be requested. Organic Law 1/2025 left arts. 63 to 67 of Law 14/2013 without content. A transitional regime covers earlier applications and permits.
What changed
Organic Law 1/2025 of 2 January on measures for the efficiency of the Public Justice Service (BOE no. 3, 3 January 2025) contains a final provision that amends Law 14/2013 on support for entrepreneurs. It leaves articles 63, 64, 65, 66 and 67 without content. Together they formed the chapter «Investors»: visa, how to prove the investment, effects, residence authorisation and duration. The law entered into force three months after publication, on 3 April 2025.
Under the original 2013 text (art. 63.2), the offer covered several modalities: public debt, shares or stakes, bank deposits, real estate and a business project of general interest. With all five articles empty, none of them appears in the consolidated text any more. We do not repeat amounts, because they are not in the current text. The chapter keeps the title «Investors» without articles that have content, and art. 61.1 still names investors in its list of profiles: that is a leftover in the list, not a procedure.
Transitional regime
The same provision adds two transitional provisions to Law 14/2013:
- Applications already filed: investors or investors' relatives who filed before 3 April 2025 «podrán recibir» (may receive) the visa or authorisation under the rules in force on the filing date (first transitional provision). The law does not guarantee the outcome: it is decided under the earlier rules.
- Permits already granted: investor visas and authorisations that were still valid on that date keep their validity for the time they were issued for (second transitional provision).
- Renewals: they are processed and decided under the rules in force when the initial authorisation was granted (second transitional provision).
It is not clear: the title of the second provision speaks of «investors by acquisition of real estate», but its text mentions investors without that limit. If your investment was not property, it is not clear how it applies. It also does not detail how many renewals are possible or which exact requirements apply: it refers back to the earlier rule. Read the official text (below, in Aclaraciones oficiales) and discuss it with a professional before deciding anything.
Alternatives
None of these routes replaces the golden visa or promises the same: the law sets no minimum investment amount and each has its own requirements.
- Non-lucrative residence (RD 1155/2024): living in Spain without working, proving financial means and health insurance. The visa is requested at the consulate. Card: non-lucrative residence.
- International teleworking (Law 14/2013, arts. 74 bis to 74 quinquies): for third-country nationals who work remotely for companies based outside Spain. Card: international teleworker.
- Entrepreneurs (Law 14/2013, arts. 69 and 70): residence to start an entrepreneurial activity that is innovative or of special economic interest. Art. 70.1 requires a favourable report from ENISA, and art. 69.1 provides for electronic filing with the Unidad de Grandes Empresas y Colectivos Estratégicos (the large companies and strategic groups unit). If you want to work for yourself under the general regulation, see the card on residence and self-employment and the one on becoming an autónomo as a foreigner.
- Highly qualified professionals (Law 14/2013, art. 71, and art. 71 bis for the EU Blue Card): residence when a company needs to bring in a highly qualified professional (art. 71.1). The requirements are in the article; for the overall picture, see types of residence in Spain and residence and work.
If your question is about buying a home (NIE, taxes, mortgage), the card buying property as a foreigner explains it; here we only cover residence.
Where
The text of the reform is in the twenty-first final provision of Organic Law 1/2025 (BOE-A-2025-76), and the current text of the amended law is in the consolidated Law 14/2013 (BOE-A-2013-10074). The BOE warns that the consolidated text has no legal value: for legal purposes the official publication counts.
Informational only; check the official source and a professional for your specific case.