Residency

[zubizareta1970]

Hi,
If I buy a property or an appartment in Spain it entitles me the residency at the present time. My question is this residency is valid for how long and what is the procedure for it to lead to citizenship?
Thanks.

[Marta]

Note that although the government is currently looking at a visa program whereby you automatically attain residency by purchasing property in Spain, it is still early days and no regulation has yet been released.

In the meantime you can opt for one of two, the non-lucrative residency permit (if you don’t have to work because you have a business in your country of residency) or self-employed residency (if you decide to start a business). If you like we can provide you with information on these two main residence permits and as soon as we have further information on the new government proposal we will also inform you about it. Hopefully we will have more details before long and as soon as this happens we will be publishing an article on the ins and outs of this regulation.

[Marta]

Hi,

I forgot to say that the government have made no mention to a possible modification of our civil code, only changes relating to residency. Therefore you will be entitled to Spanish citizenship after 10 years of residency. There are certain exceptions to this rule based on your nationality, marital status, place of birth, etc.