Spain plans to scrap its Golden Visa initiative, ending residency rights to foreign investors making substantial investments in Spanish real estate, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced in early April.

Prime Minister Sanchez highlighted that currently, 94 out of every 100 visas issued under the Golden Visa scheme are tied to real estate investments, particularly in major cities facing severe housing shortages, whilst emphasizing the challenge of finding adequate housing for residents already living, working, and paying taxes in said cities.

Following the recent revamping of Portugal’s Golden Visa scheme, which included moving potential investors to depopulated areas of less cultural and commercial interest and the upcoming elimination of the Spanish Golden Visa program, Greece emerges as the ideal alternative in the Mediterranean for non-EU citizens, with a stable and growing economy and coveted locations of untapped business potential.