Marbella gets property boost from new laws
The Council of Ministers has just granted the approval for a strategy which has been nervously awaited on the Costa del Sol. Foreigners who purchase a property or home for at least five hundred thousand euros are able to obtain a resident’s permit.
The strategy is included within the planned legislation of ‘Support for Entrepreneurs and their internationalization , in the section that works with attracting talent and investment by way of a new regime of visas and residence permits.
The law, that the authorities hope should come in to motion on January 1st next year, is likely to make it much easier for residence permits to be issued for reasons of economic interests “through a fast and simple procedure and involving just one single authority” for people who meet the criteria, based on information that was given to the press following the Cabinet meeting had ended.
The actual measure had been recently talked about last November by the Secretary of State for Commerce, Jaime García-Laga, even though on that occasion he known a figure of 160,000 euros as the minimum amount of investment. Given that sum has been raised to five hundred thousand euros, which is the same as that agreed in related laws in Portugal and Ireland. It will apply to people who buy Spanish public debt of a minimum of two million euros.
An increase of a minimum property purchase price of 500,000 euros places the Costa del Sol at an full advantage in contrast to other locations of Spain which may benefit from the measure, due to the fact along the coastline of Malaga province, contrary to other locations of the Spanish Mediterranean, there is still a sizable stock of unsold properties in the higher budget range.
The vice-president in the government, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, defended this measure by arguing it is essential to be competitive so that you can attract investment, and that it is an initiative that currently exists in other countries close to Spain.
The law, which also incorporates those that bring investment which creates employment or that provides scientific and technological innovation, will make the administrative procedures easier for a non-European who would like to live in Spain. Until recently, foreigners from outside Europe who owned property or home had two means of enjoying it: also by acquiring a tourist visa which provides them the right to spend 90 days here annually or a permit that obliges them to spend six months of the year in Spain and send youngsters to school here.
Recently, foreigners’ groups and business experts in the province have been protesting and complaining the methods to renew these permits had become more and more difficult, particularly in cases where it is extremely difficult to provide evidence that somebody has effectively been resident in the country for 6 months of the year, or people whose children are at educational institutions overseas.
The approval of the government measure is welcomed by business experts on the Costa del Sol. The current president of the Federation of Developers, Ricardo Arranz, was delighted that the minimum amount of investment had been brought up to five hundred thousand euros, due to the fact in his opinion this implies support for the Spain brand abroad as well as ensures that the nation can be competitive on equal terms with adjoining countries. For instance, he explains that in Portugal there’re already contemplating raising the limit to one million euros since the stock of more affordable properties has already been covered. Ricardo Arranz says this is a shame that the measure has arrived overdue, however he does believe it will appeal to capital coming from rising marketplaces and healthy economies.
At the same time, the mayor of Estepona, José María García Urbano,also praised the actions which have been approved by the government, since “ they are going to help people who would like to do business and not people who want to survive on the taxpayer”. Particularly, he’s positive this maneuver will draw in capital to the property market and highlights that the Costa del Sol will be particularly appealing to buyers due to the stock of properties that have not yet been sold, a lot of which are valued at over five hundred thousand euros.
The mayor of Marbella, Ángeles Muñoz, was likewise delighted the new law does not only favour individuals who come here to buy a property, but additionally those who do so to provide jobs. “This is a legislation that supports innovation, the creation of wealth as well as the attraction of ability”, she stressed. “A town as vibrant as Marbella will plainly be alluring and may benefit”
The measure was also congratulated by the president of the Association of Foreign Residents on the Costa del Sol, Ricardo Bocanegra, in whose thoughts and opinions it will be a success provided that the new regulation can exist together with the law which is presently in force, under which anybody who can display they are financially solvent can reside in Spain. This lawyer remarked that the profile of a foreign resident has evolved due to the fact now nearly all these residents are not retired, but are professionals who still maintain their business in their countries of origin and also who travel frequently. Because of this, he is convinced that the responsibility to reside in Spain for at least six months of the year should be removed.
