MADRID – Spain's government said Monday it plans to scrap so-called “golden visas" that allow wealthy people from outside the European Union to obtain residency permits on investing more than half a million euros (dollars) in real estate.
Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said his minority coalition government would study the reform in the weekly Cabinet meeting Tuesday.
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Speaking Monday, Sánchez said the reform was part of the government's push to make housing “a right, not a speculative business.”
The government says some 10,000 such visas have been issued since the measure was brought into law in 2013 by a previous right-wing Popular Party government as a means to attract foreign investors.
“Golden visas” are strongly criticized for spurring property price hikes and speculation in the housing sector. Soaring house prices have long been a major problem for many Spaniards, particularly in the country’s major cities.