Foreigners who buy property to get ‘Residencia’

The Secretary of State for Trade, Jaime García-Legaz, announced yesterday (Monday, 19th November 2012) that the government is considering changing the law to grant an automatic residence permit (Residencia)to foreigners who purchase property in Spain amounting to more than €160,000. Speaking at a briefing, Mr. Garcia-Legaz explained that this initiative is specifically targeted at the Russian and Chinese market. Regarding the minimum price of €160,000 he said that it is a “balanced level” so to “not give rise to a massive demand for residence permits”. There will be a further meeting to address this regulatory change to the Executive, which aims to boost foreign demand for housing at a time when domestic demand is stagnant.