A total of 65,616 residence permits were issued in Spain in 2023 to VIP foreigners, triple the number granted five years ago (3.2 times more).
A report from On Economia shows that last year this scheme benefited highly qualified professionals, investors, researchers, and digital nomads, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
In 2018, we were granted 20,274 permits by the Large Business Unit (UGE), which falls under the Ministry of Social Security, Inclusion, and Migration. Last year’s figures show that the number of residence permits for VIP foreigners more than tripled since then.
The same source shows that a total of 232,393 privileged internationals of the 291,612 who have requested it, taking into account expats and investors who have obtained residence permits since 2016.
For a period from 2013 until now, about 14,576 to 17,792 real estate investors got permits in Spain via UGE. The exact number varies depending on whether the data provided by the Minister of Housing’s press conference or the official document from the Transparency Portal sent by the Ministry of Social Security in response to ON ECONOMIA’s request are taken into consideration.
The special office was created in 2007 to attract foreign capital and talent to Madrid and also assist Spanish investors in going global. The office granted a total of 80 per cent of requests, which amounted to 81,171.
The number of applications for this type of permit has been increasing rapidly, with 26,202 in 2018, triple that of the previous year. However, details related to the origin of applicants weren’t provided by the office or the ministry.
According to On Economia, among the permits requested and granted, the teleworker permit introduced in 2022 became increasingly famous. By October of the following year, a total of 7,116 permits had been granted, taking into account both teleworkers and their family members, out of 10,668 applications, thus accounting for a 66.7 per cent approval rate.
Number of Residence Permits in Spain
Last year, Spain issued a large number of residence permits as well. In 2023, Colombians had the highest percentage increase among foreigners holding residence authorization in Spain, with a total of 33 per cent increase in comparison to the previous year, according to the statistics from the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration.
In 2022, more than 457,412 first residence permits were issued by authorities in Spain, based on the data provided by Eurostat.
