What changed, and for whom
Ley Orgánica 1/2025, published in January 2025, repealed the investor residence articles of Ley 14/2013. From 3 April 2025 Spain stopped accepting new golden visa applications.
Three groups were left untouched. Applications filed before that date are decided under the old rules. People who already hold the permit can renew it. And family members already holding their own permit keep it. Everyone else needs another route.
The change ended the link between property and residence. Spain did not close itself to Americans who want to live there. It simply stopped selling residence for a purchase price.
The question that decides your route
Spain’s residence permits are built around how you will support yourself. So the first thing I ask anyone who was looking at the golden visa is whether they will still be working once they move.
- You will not work. You live on savings, Social Security, a pension, dividends or rent. That is the Non-Lucrative Visa.
- You will keep working remotely for an employer or clients outside Spain. That is the Digital Nomad Visa.
Working for a Spanish company is a third case with its own permit, usually started by the employer. The four-question chooser sorts you in a minute if you are unsure.
The Non-Lucrative Visa, for most former golden visa buyers
Most people who were weighing a golden visa had capital and did not plan to work in Spain. The Non-Lucrative Visa fits them well, and it costs far less to qualify for.
In 2026 you show €28,800 a year for yourself and €7,200 for each family member who moves with you. That is 400% and 100% of the IPREM, Spain’s benchmark figure, counted on twelve payments. Savings, passive income or a mix of the two all count. A salary does not.
You apply in person at the Spanish consulate that covers your state, before you move. The first permit lasts one year. Renewals are for two years at a time and need more than 183 days a year living in Spain. After five years you can apply for long-term residence.
The means calculator checks your numbers against the line in euros, which is how the consulate reads them.
What the house you were going to buy still does
Buying property in Spain no longer gives you a permit, but it can still strengthen a Non-Lucrative Visa file in two ways.
As your accommodation. Consulates ask where you will live. A deed is the strongest answer there is. Houston, for one, requires proof of accommodation that names every applicant.
As income. Rent is passive income. If you buy a second property and let it, the rent counts toward the line. The consulate wants the lease, proof of ownership and the rent showing up in your bank statements.
One caution. Money that leaves your account to buy a house no longer counts as savings. Plan the purchase and the visa together, so the bank letter still clears the line after the purchase.
If you will keep working: the Digital Nomad Visa
If your plan was to buy a home and keep a remote job, the Digital Nomad Visa is the route. It needs current work for an employer or clients outside Spain, a degree or three years of experience, and in 2026 about €2,849 a month for one person.
Filed from inside Spain, it gives a three-year permit, and the UGE has 20 working days to decide. The property helps here too, as your address in Spain.
Golden visa against the two routes left
| Golden visa (ended) | Non-Lucrative Visa | Digital Nomad Visa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you show | A €500,000 property purchase | €28,800 a year in savings or passive income | About €2,849 a month from remote work |
| Work | Allowed | Not allowed, remote included | Remote work for employers or clients outside Spain |
| Time in Spain | No minimum | More than 183 days a year to renew | Living in Spain |
| Where you apply | Consulate or Spain | Your consulate in the U.S. | Inside Spain, or your consulate |
| First permit | Renewed while you kept the investment | One year, then two-year renewals | Three years from Spain |
The column that matters most is time in Spain. The golden visa never asked you to live there. Both routes left do. If what you wanted was a permit to visit often while living in the U.S., neither replaces it, and an honest answer before you start saves you a year.
Already filed before April 2025, or already a holder
An application filed before 3 April 2025 is decided under the old rules, even if the decision comes later. A permit already granted can be renewed. If either is your situation, keep your filing receipt and your permit dates safe, because they are what proves you fall on the right side of the date.
Where to start
Tell me in the free assessment what you have and how you plan to live. I reply in writing within 24 hours with the route that fits and the numbers it needs. If you will not work, the Non-Lucrative checklist gives you every document for your consulate, dated back from your appointment.
No. Ley Orgánica 1/2025 repealed the investor residence route of Ley 14/2013, and no new applications have been accepted since 3 April 2025. Applications filed before that date are decided under the old rules, and permits already granted can still be renewed.
Not any more. A property gives you somewhere to live and can produce rent, and both help a Non-Lucrative Visa file, but owning it does not give you a right to reside.
The Non-Lucrative Visa. You show a year of means without working, €28,800 for one person in 2026 plus €7,200 for each family member, from savings or passive income. You apply in person at the Spanish consulate for your state.
Then the Digital Nomad Visa. It needs current remote work for an employer or clients outside Spain and, in 2026, about €2,849 a month in income for one person. Filed from inside Spain it gives three years.
Yes, rent is passive income. Consulates want to see the lease, proof that you own the property and the rent arriving in your account. Savings in the bank are still the easiest proof, so most files combine the two.
Sources: Ley Orgánica 1/2025 (BOE) · Ley 14/2013 (BOE) · Reglamento de Extranjería, RD 1155/2024 (BOE) · Every figure on this site, with its source.