Spain's Golden Visa scheme closed to new applicants in April 2025. It has not reopened since. For years it was the fastest route to Spanish residency for buyers spending €500,000 or more on property. That shortcut no longer exists. The appetite for a life on the Costa del Sol has not gone anywhere, though, and the practicalities are simpler than the headlines suggest.
Why the scheme closed
The Spanish government scrapped the investor visa as part of a wider push to ease pressure on housing supply. Golden Visas were never a large share of total foreign purchases. They carried outsized political attention because they linked property investment directly to residency rights. Removing that link was framed mainly as a signal about housing policy, rather than a change with a major market impact.
What British buyers actually need now
Since Brexit, UK nationals have needed a visa to stay in Spain beyond 90 days in any 180-day period. That rule predates the Golden Visa's closure and has not changed. What has changed is that owning property no longer shortcuts the process. Buyers now need to qualify through one of Spain's standard residency routes instead. The most common route for retirees and second-home owners is the non-lucrative visa. It is aimed at people living off pension or investment income, rather than local employment.
What the numbers show
Registered population data from the INE (Instituto Nacional de Estadística) shows how much foreign demand has already reshaped the region, regardless of visa routes. Málaga province's foreign-born population reached 347,578 by October 2025. That is an increase of more than 9,000 people in a single year. Foreign residents are now the main driver of the province's overall population growth. This trend predates the Golden Visa's closure. It shows no sign of slowing down either.
What the alternatives actually involve
Buyers who want to combine a purchase with the right to live here have options. The alternative residency routes now open to property buyers are set out in more detail elsewhere. The shape of the process is fairly consistent, though. Applicants typically need to show roughly €28,800 a year in passive income. They also need private health insurance valid in Spain, and must demonstrate they will not take up local employment. Processing usually runs through the Spanish consulate in the applicant's home country first. An in-country renewal typically follows around a year later.
Spouses, dependants and the wider household
Most applicants are not moving alone, and the non-lucrative visa accounts for that. Spouses and dependent children can usually be included on the same application, provided the household income requirement rises accordingly. Each additional adult dependant typically adds a further 75% of the base income threshold, and each child a smaller supplement. Getting this figure right early avoids delays later in the process.
The 90-day rule in practice
The 90-in-180 rule catches out more buyers than any other part of this process. It does not reset every calendar year. Instead, any 90 days spent in Spain count against a rolling 180-day window. That window is tracked across the whole Schengen area, not Spain alone. A buyer might spend six weeks in Spain each in spring and autumn. They can easily breach the limit without realising it. This is especially true if they also holiday elsewhere in the EU during the same window.
An alternative for buyers who still work
Not everyone moving to the coast is retiring. Spain's digital nomad visa offers a separate route for buyers who continue working remotely for a non-Spanish employer or client base. Requirements differ from the non-lucrative visa. The focus is on proof of remote employment and a minimum income threshold, rather than passive income alone. It has become a popular option among younger buyers purchasing property in areas like Nueva Andalucía and Estepona. Many plan to split their time between working and living on the coast.
Buying without residency
Not every buyer needs or wants residency. Many UK buyers purchase a second home on the coast and split their time within the 90-day rule. They use the property for holidays now, with a fuller move planned later. Crinoa, a boutique Costa del Sol agency, works with both groups routinely, and the purchase paperwork itself has not changed at all. Buying a property in Spain does not require any residency status. The two processes run on entirely separate tracks, and conflating them is one of the most common mistakes first-time buyers make.
The costs that do not change
Non-resident buyers should budget for standard purchase costs regardless of their visa plans. Transfer tax, notary fees, registry costs and legal fees typically add up to roughly 8% of the purchase price. None of that shifts if a buyer later decides to apply for residency. The two costs sit on entirely separate ledgers. Each should be planned for independently, ideally with input from a lawyer familiar with both sides.
What happens to existing Golden Visa holders
Buyers who already hold a Golden Visa are not affected by the closure. Existing visas continue on their original terms. They can still be renewed under the rules in place when they were first granted. The change only applies to new applications submitted after the April 2025 cut-off. Nobody already holding the visa needs to take any action as a result.
The bottom line
The end of the Golden Visa removed a shortcut, not a market. Demand along the coast kept growing through 2025 and into 2026. It has been driven by buyers who want a home in the sun, regardless of what it does for their passport. For UK buyers, the practical question has simply shifted. It is no longer about whether a property earns a visa. It is about whether the property, and the standard residency route alongside it, both fit the life a buyer actually wants to build here.