Features for expats in Spain

Born in Argentina, Vanessa has always been passionate about her Italian roots. This led her to Rome in 2015, the same year when she met the love of her life. In 2021, she decided to follow him to Barcelona, where they now enjoy a fulfilling expat life. Being a freelance translator, Vanessa shares her story of why she chose to move to Europe and all that comes with it.

Expat.com meets Stefano, an Italian expatriate who lives in Valencia with his family. Let's talk about his routine between remote work and managing children during the lockdown.

Almost half of Barcelona's residents are foreign-born and this is a record. This was revealed last week by the Municipal Register of Inhabitants of the city. Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, an autonomous region in Spain, seems to be a haven for expatriates. This is due to two reasons: firstly there is record growth of expats joining Barcelona's multicultural composition that is rapidly changing the face of the city and secondly there are the deliberate efforts by the City Administration to transform the existing multiculturalism into an interconnected, intercultural community for all its citizens.

We had the opportunity to speak with Xavier Mayo Torres, Head of Foreign Economic Promotion, who gives us the keys to understanding the success of a city whose appeal continues to grow.

Published in the Official Gazette on June 2, Spain's new real estate law has been in force since June 30. The law was urgently introduced to regulate Spain's strained real estate market and facilitate access to housing, especially in "stressed areas". The new law tightly regulates rents and puts tenants and landlords on an equal footing. So what do you need to keep in mind when buying property in Spain?

Are we witnessing the last days of the Spanish Golden Visa? While Portugal and Ireland have announced the end of their Golden Visa programs intended for wealthy foreign investors, Spain's political left wing is proposing a law to abolish access to citizenship through real estate investment. How is this going to affect immigration in Spain?