Next month will see the end of Spain’s Golden Visa scheme – a residency permit granted to individuals who make a significant investment in the country, usually through purchasing real estate at a minimum of €500,000.
This is allowing them to live and work in Spain. However, as of April 2025, the scheme will be phased out and no new applications will be accepted.
Unsurprisingly, the number of applications has surged as foreign nationals scramble to get one of the last visas before the deadline.
One country in particular, however, has seen an astonishing increase in the number of applications, with a significant number blaming one man in particular.
There has been a huge 200% rise in the number of Golden Visa applications from US citizens as the countdown to the scheme’s end draws nearer, Schengen News reported.
While most US citizens moving to Spain have said they are searching for a better life, politics has become a major factor in many’s decisions. In particular, Donald Trump’s election victory has been to blame.
American actor Richard Gere – famous for Pretty Women – who recently set up home in Madrid, told a Spanish audience that these were “dark days” in the States and labelled the President as a “bully and a thug”.
The heated public spat between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday night may further stoke some US citizens’ desire to move elsewhere, as world leaders flock to show their support for Ukraine on social media.
A similar trend has been witnessed in Greece, with report in January by leading international property experts, Astons, pointed to the fact Americans are diverting their attention to Greek Golden Visas, ekathimerini reported. The trend started immediately after Mr Trump’s election in November.
In 2024 alone, a total of 74.8% of foreign investments made in Spain stayed in the Madrid region, according to El Debate. Nationals of the US account for a significant share of these investments, especially those obtaining dual Spanish-American nationality.
Since the announcement, demand for golden visas in Portugal and Greece has risen dramatically, with industry experts warning that Spain will be poorer as a result and that it will “pay the price”.
According to Mark Stücklin, founder of the website Spanish Property Insight, implementing the 100% tax or a total ban would be a “catastrophe” for local housing markets and economies.
The Democrats, who lost the election, said they understood why some Americans were moving elsewhere.
According to a survey of 1,000 Americans by Greenback Expat Tax Services – even ahead of the election last year – nearly one in five Democrats said they would consider moving out of the US if the Republican candidate won the election, compared to one in 12 on the flip side.
Among the top countries Americans said they would consider emigrating to were Canada, the UK, Australia, Italy and Spain.
