SPAIN has announced plans to scrap its so-called “golden visa” scheme in a blow to wealthy British expats who invest in property there.
The scheme currently allows non-EU citizens who invest around half a million euros in Spanish property to live and work in the country for three years.
But Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has announced it will be ditched as he focuses on prioritising affordable housing for Spaniards.
He told reporters the move would make affordable housing "a right instead of a speculative business".
He said: “Today, 94 out of every 100 such visas are linked to real estate investment... in major cities like Barcelona, Madrid, Malaga, Alicante, Valencia or Palma de Mallorca that are facing a highly-stressed market and where it's almost impossible to find decent housing for those who already live, work and pay their taxes there.”
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He added the government would launch the process to eliminate the scheme in Tuesday's weekly cabinet meeting after studying a report submitted by the Housing Ministry.
The scheme was introduced in Spain in September 2013 in response to the global financial crisis as wealthy foreigners were encouraged to invest in real estate.
Thousands of British expats are expected to be affected. Around 303,000 Brits lived in Spain in 2020, second only to the 305,000 living in Ireland.
Mary Dunne, of estate agents Hamptons International, told the MailOnline: "It's like a bomb went off this morning. It's going to be a big issue for expats wanting to move and a lot of people are very unhappy about it.”
Neighbouring Portugal has recently revamped its own "golden visa" scheme and excluded real estate investment to tackle a housing crisis.
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