Barcelona on November 6 and Madrid on November 7 The United States is Spain’s number one trade partner outside the European Union and the depth and breadth of this trade relationship continues to grow. On November 6th and 7th, Harris Bricken will collaborate with our affiliated Spain firm, Monereo Meyer Abogados, and with the Barcelona […]

We talked here about the pros and cons of setting up a Spanish subsidiary instead of just opening a branch office. Once you have made up your mind to form a subsidiary in Spain to run your local activities, you might find you need to get that project started faster than you predicted. Your new […]

You’ve taken the first steps in expanding your business into Spain, perhaps by forming distributorship relations. Now, you’re ready to put down deeper roots by renting office space and hiring staff. With these pieces in place you will be considered a “permanent establishment,” and it’s time to go beyond simply registering your foreign business. Foreign […]

In September 2013, the Spanish parliament approved a new law allowing non-EU investors to apply for a Spanish residence permit and by extension for a Schengen visa. The objective of the law is to attract entrepreneurs to Spain and to stimulate foreign investment in Spanish real estate, public debt, and job creation.  What this all […]

Earlier this year, trade secrets became explicitly protected under Spanish national law when EU Directive (2016/943/EU) became part of Spain law. Before Spain incorporated this EU Directive on trade secrets, it did not have a consistent definition of the term “trade secrets.” In addition to this new Spain law providing a consistent definition for trade […]

It’s amazing to experience such an impressive international gathering like Spannabis taking place in a country where legislation lags behind the massive cannabis culture and high social tolerance, criminalizing and punishing anything that goes beyond private consumption and self-growing. Specialists, celebrities, growers, breeders and users from around the world met last weekend in and around […]

Spain has enacted various laws to bring in wealthy and talented people who want to start a business or invest in Spain. Spain now allows foreign investors and skilled individuals to apply for extended visas. Most importantly for our firm’s clients, Spain now has very liberal visa policies for foreign entrepreneurs who plan to start […]

Our Barcelona office continues to keep tabs on Spain’s vibrant cannabis industry, which is different than anything going on in the United States, or anywhere else in the world for that matter. Last week, the 15th annual Spannabis conference showed that the country’s enthusiasm for marijuana has not diminished in the least, and that Spaniards continue to […]

The Parliament of Catalonia just approved by a 118 to 9 vote a new law that (Ley de asociaciones de consumidoras de cannabis) that establishes legal standards for cannabis clubs. Up until now, cannabis clubs in Catalonia were protected solely by municipal regulations and they have to a large extent been operating in legal limbo. This new law gives […]

現在正是移居西班牙的大好時機。西班牙擁有良好的基礎設施，優秀的國際學校，以及有競爭力的經商環境。從投資眼光來看，美元對歐元的匯率正呈升值走勢且西班牙為世界上主要獲得投資挹注的國家，同時其不動產的價格更是令人心動。此外，西班牙所提供的生活風格優勢，也讓其鄰近的歐洲國家難以望其項背。 如果您正打算行動并在尋找絕佳的投資機會，那麼您應該知道現在最吸引非歐盟投資人士的計畫之一就是西班牙的“黃金簽證”（Golden Visa）計劃。為使其經濟更具競爭力，西班牙於2013年針對非歐盟居民的私人投資者，推出了“黃金簽證”計畫，從而促進外國直接投資，強化外貿交易以及創造當地就業機會；而於2015年對法律的增修，新增了更多激勵措施，使獲得西班牙簽證和工作許可變得更加快速、更加容易。 要符合獲得“黃金簽證”的條件，您必須要先有在西班牙投資一筆可觀金額的準備。取得該簽證的方式包括：至少花費50萬歐元投資位于西班牙的不動產；向一家西班牙公司、投資基金或風投資金投資至少100萬歐元；或至少以200萬歐元投資西班牙政府債券。 投資者獲得簽證之後，只要一直保持著50萬歐元的投資門檻，便可自由買賣房產，也不再需要以個人身分進行投資，而是可以以直接或間接方式，通過註冊公司來購買西班牙房產，只需其持續持有大部分的股份且該公司的地址並非註冊於避稅天堂。這也意味著如果您可以找到投資夥伴，便能以低於50萬歐元的投資獲得西班牙簽證。 雖然還有其它類型的西班牙簽證，但“黃金簽證”是尤其具有吸引力的，這是因為它能給予投資者的直系親屬在西班牙居住的機會。自2015年起，申請者不僅可以為其配偶也可以為其事實婚配偶請求團圓申請。此外，該計畫亦涵蓋經濟上依賴投資者的孩童，包括成年的孩子以及父母親。此居住許可還允許取得西班牙工作許可。 通過審核的申請者初始可取得1年有效期的簽證，然後可申請2年有效期的居住許可，之後可以每次延期5年，續簽的時候對居留時間沒有要求。這對那些想要同時擁有西班牙居住好處，並可自由享受到其他歐洲國家旅行的投資人士來說，非常有吸引力。投資者可選擇留在西班牙，或是成為住在第三國家的稅務居民。經過10年的持續居住之後（每年至少須有183天住在西班牙），申請者便可以申請成為西班牙公民。 取得西班牙“黃金簽證”並不代表獲得一輩子都能過著悠閒沙灘度假生活的保證，但想想看，西班牙人的平均預期壽命為83.2歲，是全球第二高的國家，不僅如此，其環境優美，還有美食小吃、高第建築設計（巴塞隆納）、地中海海灘和西班牙足球等等，您所投資的時間與金錢可以取得的回報可謂是物超所值。 如果您需要向律師咨詢，請聯繫： Nadja Vietz律師，電話(34) 933-041-123，郵箱nadja@harrisbricken.com。 Grace Yang律師（講國語），電話(1) 206-224-5657，中國手機號15210321328，郵箱grace@harrisbricken.com。