Spanish Senate Vetoes Justice Reform Bill That Would End Golden Visa Program

Spain’s Senate vetoed the Judicial Efficiency Bill on December 2, marking a temporary setback for the government’s plans to terminate the country’s golden visa program.

The Popular Party (PP), holding a majority in the Senate, pushed through the veto against the legislation that Congress approved on November 14.

The Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), which added the golden visa termination measures to the bill, had made strides following Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s April 2024 announcement to end the program.

While the Senate’s opposition delays the process, it cannot permanently block the legislation. Congress, where the PSOE and its coalition partners hold a majority, retains the power to override the veto.

According to Dr. Jacinto Soler-Matutes, Senior Partner at Emergia Partners, “Congress has the power to lift the Senate’s veto, so the draft law will remain untouched.”

Congress can ratify the law in one of its remaining plenary sessions scheduled for December 10-12 or 17-19.

The legislative timeline points to rapid implementation after a Congress override. “Despite the Christmas holidays, we may still count on a speedy publication in the Official Gazette in the first days of January, probably around January 8-10,” Soler-Matutes explains.

The law contains a transitional provision protecting applications investors submit before its implementation.

Those who file requests before the law’s publication in the Official State Bulletin (BOE) will receive authorization under current regulations.

The program’s termination may arrive sooner than expected. “We must count on the Spanish Golden Visa finally phasing out around April 1,” Soler-Matutes projects, noting this arrives “ahead of the timeline initially estimated.”