Today, we were invited by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce to participate in the seminar “Business Opportunities in Spain – New Spanish Law for Foreign Investors.” We exchanged opinions with Spanish officers regarding investment regulations.

The Spanish government provides four ways for investors to apply for investors visa and residence authorization.

1. Real Estate Investors
2. Investors in Spanish companies and bank deposits
3. Investors in Spanish public debt
4. Investors in Special Interest projects in Spain

The process of applying is described as follows:

1. Applying for an investor visa: it allows its holder to enter and stay in Spain for a maximum period of one year; Application reviewing period: 10 days.
2. Applying for a residence authorization: valid for two years, it is renewable, provided the investment is maintained and the investor visits Spain at least once during that period; Application reviewing period: 20 days.

After investing for five years, investors will be able to apply for a long-term residence authorization. According to Spanish officers, citizenship has not opened to apply to date.

Regarding the “Investors in Special Interest projects in Spain,” investment minimum amount is not set, and the verifying standard is not clear either. Since January 2014, Spain government has received 100 applications. 60 have been approved, 20 to 30 applications are still pending. According to the Spain officers, the key point is to “create job opportunity.”

In Spain, the corporate tax rate is 19.4%, but the total tax rate (including other tax payments) is close to 40%. Labor cost in Spain for private sector is €23.5 per hour. Both tax rate and labor cost are within the middle standard of EU countries.

Our firm has a close relationship with investment officers of Catalonia, should you be interested in investing in Spain, please feel free to contact us.