the LAW ON "GOLDEN VISA" AND a residence permit of the INVESTOR IN SPAIN

on Thursday the 30th of July the law came into force. Among other things, adopted rule includes the modification of several articles of the law on entrepreneurs Ley 14/20132 that provides foreigners the right to obtain the so-called “Golden” visas and residence permits in exchange for substantial investments (including – real estate in Spain).

Consider the order, what are the changes adopted.

1. Expanded the list of persons entitled to obtain a visa and a residence permit simultaneously with the investor. Originally this right was granted only to the official or her spouse and minor children of the applicant. Children over the age of 18 could obtain the documents just in case if they were dependent on parents for health reasons. The reform of paragraph 4 of article 62 of the Law on entrepreneurs allows you to apply for a visa and residentialareas spouses, parents, financially independent of the applicant, as well as adult children, provided that they are in support of the applicant and have not yet created my own family. This reform is a very important change because it affords another significant advantage of the visa and the residence permit of the investor in front of the residence without the right to work (residencia no lucrativa), which is also called "visa D”.

2. the Period during which it is possible to apply for a visa investor when investing in stocks, funds, deposits and government debt has increased from two to twelve months, in accordance with the modification of article 64, paragraph A. In this case, in article 63 emphasize that stocks and shares can be acquired only in the operating companies, investment funds should be based on the territory of Spain, and the deposits – opened in the Spanish financial institutions.

3. As for the acquisition of real estate investments in Spain cost from € 500,000, the ability of the investor visa is now granted to those who have not made a transaction of sale but has already signed a preliminary contract (arras). In this case, the applicant may qualify the investor for a period of six months. After signing the contract of sale, the investor may request or a visa for a period of one year, or to apply for a residence permit for a period of two years.

4. the Right to work. According to the reform of article 65 of the Law on Entrepreneurs, the investor visa grants the right not only to live but also work in Spain. Previously the right to work was provided for only the receipt of the residence permit of the investor.

5. The residence permit of the investor is now possible to obtain, bypassing the stage of obtaining the investor visa. Article 66, paragraph 3 modifies the original requirements of the Law on Entrepreneurs requires the applicant to first request the investor visa, and only after it is received – to apply for a residence permit. Now, if the applicant is legally in the territory of Spain and carries out the statutory investment, he may file a petition directly on the granting of a residence permit without having to leave the country and apply for investor visa to the Spanish consular offices, for example, Moscow or Kiev, as it was previously.

6. The validity of the residence permit of the investor extended three to five years. In accordance with the wording of article 67, the original residence of the investor is valid for two years, and subsequent renewal are valid for five years. That is, once having received a residence permit, while maintaining investment documents can be renewed every five years without limits.

All of the above changes were introduced to make the Law on Entrepreneurs more attractive to potential foreign investors. Recall that this rule came into effect at the end of September 2013. According to official Government Испании3, fifteen months of its existence, the program has attracted 694 million Euro investment. During this period 5 581 were issued a visa and residence permit of the investor. A large part of investments – 369,7 million euros – was carried out in a property in Spain. See also real estate in Czech Republic