Does Buying Property in Spain Give You Residency? (2026)

The short answer

Buying a home in Spain has not granted residency since 3 April 2025. That was the day Organic Law 1/2025 came into force and repealed the investor residence permit, known as the golden visa, created by Law 14/2013. The repeal covered every investment route: the €500,000 property purchase, plus the share, fund, bank deposit and business variants. Applications submitted before that date are processed under the old rules, and existing golden visa holders keep their permits and renew them as before. But a purchase completed today carries no immigration rights at all, and no Spanish property, at any price, changes how long you can stay.

Organic Law 1/2025 repealed Spain's investor residence permits (the golden visa) with effect from 3 April 2025; property purchases no longer qualify for residencySource: Boletín Oficial del Estado, Ley Orgánica 1/2025 · April 2025 · View market data →

What changed in April 2025, and why

The golden visa ran from 2013 to 2025. It was created during the financial crisis to attract foreign capital, and it granted a renewable residence permit to non-EU buyers investing €500,000 or more in Spanish real estate, with no minimum stay required. By 2024 the government had concluded the scheme was feeding price pressure in stretched housing markets, and the Ministry of Housing announced its end in April 2024, pointing to the same decisions already taken by Portugal and Ireland. The repeal was written into Organic Law 1/2025, published on 3 January 2025, and took effect three months later.

Two details matter for buyers today. First, the abolition is complete: there is no successor scheme, and any adviser selling a 2026 route to Spanish residency through property alone is selling something that does not exist. Second, nothing changed about ownership itself. Foreign buyers face no restrictions, need no permit to buy, and the purchase process is identical whether you are resident or not. The full process is in our complete buying guide.

What owning a Spanish home actually gives you

Ownership and immigration status are separate systems that never touch. A title deed gives you full property rights, but it appears in a visa decision only as supporting evidence. In practical terms, owning a home in Spain gives a non-resident four things:

• The right to use your home for up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period, the standard Schengen allowance for visa-free visitors, with no paperwork beyond a valid passport.
• Proof of accommodation, which supports a non-lucrative or other visa application. It strengthens a file; it never qualifies one on its own.
• A Spanish tax footprint: non-resident owners file the Modelo 210 imputed income return each year and pay the annual IBI property tax, whether or not they ever seek residency.
• No advantage at all on the tests that decide a visa: income, health insurance, criminal record checks and, for work routes, employment.

The residency routes that still work in 2026

Non-EU buyers who want to live in Spain full time now use the same routes as everyone else. The two most relevant to property buyers are the non-lucrative visa and the digital nomad visa. The financial thresholds below are the published 2026 figures; they are indexed to Spain's official income indicators and change most years, so verify the current year's numbers before applying.

The non-lucrative visa: the closest thing to the old route

The non-lucrative visa (NLV) is the route most former golden visa candidates now take. It is designed for people who can support themselves without working in Spain: retirees on pensions, and owners living on savings, rental income or dividends. The main applicant must show passive income or savings worth 400% of the IPREM, Spain's public income indicator. The IPREM has been frozen at €600 a month since 2023, which puts the 2026 requirement at €28,800 a year, plus €7,200 for each family member who joins the application. Full private health insurance with no co-payments and a clean criminal record are required, and the visa prohibits all work, including remote work for foreign companies. The first permit runs one year and renews in two-year blocks, and renewal expects real residence in Spain, which makes the NLV a poor fit for anyone who only wants extended holidays.

The IPREM stands at €600 a month (€7,200 a year) in 2026, unchanged since 2023; the non-lucrative visa requires 400% of it, €28,800 a year for the main applicantSource: Ley 31/2022, state budget IPREM provision, prorogued through 2026, Boletín Oficial del Estado · 2026 · View market data →

The digital nomad visa for remote workers

Buyers who still work usually take the digital nomad visa (DNV), introduced by Spain's 2022 startup law. It suits employees and freelancers who work remotely for companies outside Spain. The income requirement is 200% of Spain's minimum wage, which Real Decreto 126/2026 set at €1,221 a month in 14 payments from 2026. That works out to €2,849 a month, or €34,188 a year, for a single applicant, with roughly €1,068 a month added for the first family member and €356 for each additional one. Applicants need at least three months of history with their employer or clients, and the remote arrangement must predate the application. Qualifying DNV holders can also apply for Spain's special expat tax regime, with a flat 24% rate on Spanish employment income up to €600,000, which is worth a conversation with a tax adviser before the move rather than after it.

Spain's 2026 minimum wage is €1,221 a month in 14 payments; the digital nomad visa requires 200% of it, €2,849 a month for a single applicantSource: Boletín Oficial del Estado, Real Decreto 126/2026 · February 2026 · View market data →

EU citizens: you never needed a visa

Citizens of the EU, the EEA and Switzerland are unaffected by everything above. They have the right to live in Spain without any visa, before or after buying. The only formality arrives at three months: longer stays require the green EU registration certificate (certificado de registro), issued on proof of sufficient resources and health cover. Separately, every buyer of any nationality needs an NIE, the foreigner identification number that appears on the title deed and every tax form. The NIE is pure identification, not a residence permit, and holding one says nothing about your immigration status.

Owning without residency: the 90/180 rule

Most international owners on the Costa del Sol never take residency at all, and since Brexit that includes most British owners. The rule that governs them is the Schengen 90/180: up to 90 days inside the Schengen area within any rolling 180-day window, counted across all Schengen countries together, not per country. Used carefully, it allows roughly half the year in Spain, typically as a long spring block and a long autumn block. For owners who want winter sun and summer visits rather than a full relocation, this costs nothing and requires no application.

What the old €500,000 threshold buys in 2026

The €500,000 line was never a market figure, it was a visa threshold, but it remains a useful lens on the coast. Across our live Costa del Sol inventory of 7,946 active resale listings, the median asking price is €659,000, so the old golden visa minimum now sits below the middle of this market. It still buys well: the median resale apartment on the coast asks €490,000, and towns like Fuengirola (median €549,500) and Estepona (€630,000) offer deep choice around the line, while Marbella's median of €880,500 sits far above it. The comparison makes the wider point: many people bought at €500,000 for the visa, the visa is gone, and the homes themselves have kept repricing upward anyway. You can watch that town by town on our live price pages.

The Costa del Sol's median resale asking price is €659,000 across 7,946 active listings in September 2026; the median resale apartment asks €490,000Source: Hometailor market data · September 2026 · View market data →

If a full-time move is the plan, the purchase process itself is unchanged and is covered step by step in our buying guide, with the true purchase and ownership costs in the costs guide. Current inventory for every town is on our Costa del Sol listings.