By Adam Richardson

EU residency and citizenships are among the most coveted in the world…and are not normally easy to get.

But as our own Peter MacFarlane pointed out just a few weeks ago here, several cash strapped European countries are drafting plans to make residency (and citizenship) much easier!

The inviting Spanish coastline…now more accessible than ever. photo credit

Peter reported that Ireland and Portugal have already discreetly rolled out their plans.  Of the countries that are still actively working on implementing these new laws (Spain, Hungary, and Bulgaria) it appears that Spain is the closest to making a residency scheme official.

Luckily for those interested  it appears that Spain’s program may be among the least expensive as well!

Needless to say we think this is very exciting news and are keeping a very close eye on the developments of each of these programs.

If you’ve ever vacationed along the captivating Mediterranean coast you’ve probably had daydreams of living there.  Spanish residency is about to become easier to obtain, making this dream much easier to achieve.

As it stands, the Spanish government is considering offering residency to foreigners who buy property worth about $200,000 or more.  Considering that along the sun drenched Spanish coastline many homes are selling at a steep discount (up to 50% of their original asking price!) this could be a once in a generation type of investment.

Why now?

The economically challenged PIIGS countries are starved for revenue and Spain was hit especially hard by the  dramatic boom and bust housing cycle.  There are an estimated 700,000 empty homes throughout Spain, filling them with money from outside the Spanish economy would be a great boon to the government and local communities.

We don’t yet know the details of this program.  Some questions remain such as:

• Will residency be accompanied by access to state-sponsored health-care? ( a perk to residents but a drain on the health-care system)
• How long will this program be open?  (Just the next few years or longer?)
• Will there be tax breaks for new home buyers? (A recent program just expired but there are rumors of another being considered)

Regardless of the outcome you can bet that we will keep you updated.  To make sure you are kept up to speed with the latest actionable intel from around the world be sure to sign up to our email list.  Also strongly consider becoming a Q Wealth Member – for the price of a good meal you can gain access to a hidden world of information, personal consultations, and unique benefits unmatched by other services.

Questions or comments?  Let us know below.