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Golden Visa Programs, Once a Boon, Lose Their Luster
马德里的公寓。欧洲各地正在逐步取消或关闭黄金签证项目。 当年轻的医生安娜·希梅纳·巴尔巴去年开始在马德里的一家医院工作时，她搬到了离城半小时车程的地方与父母同住，直到她攒够了钱可以买自己的房子。但当她开始在同一个村子看房子时，几乎所有房子的标价都超过了50万欧元。 6park.com 6park.comThe amount — nearly 20 times more than the average annual salary in Spain — happens to correspond to the cost of the country’s “golden visa,” a program that offers residency to wealthy foreigners who buy real estate there. After a decade, the program has reeled in billions of euros in investments, but it has also helped fuel a wrenching housing crisis for its own citizens. 6park.com这几乎是西班牙平均年薪的20倍，恰好相当于该国“黄金签证”的费用，这是一个向在该国购买房地产的富有外国人提供居住权的项目。推出十年来，该项目吸引了数十亿欧元的投资，但也助长了令本国居民感到痛苦的住房危机。 6park.com 6park.com“There’s nothing I can afford,” said Dr. Barba, an allergist who has been working 100 hours overtime every month to save up a nest egg. “If foreigners inflate the prices for those of us who live here, it’s an injustice,” she said. 6park.com“我什么都负担不起，”过敏症专科医生巴尔巴说，为了攒下积蓄，她每个月会加班100小时。“如果外国人抬高了我们这些住在这里的人要承担的价格，这是不公正的，”她说。 6park.com 6park.comFaced with growing pressure to address its housing crunch, Spain said this month that it would scrap its golden visas, the latest in a wider withdrawal from the program by governments around Europe. 6park.com面对解决住房危机问题的压力越来越大，西班牙本月表示将取消黄金签证，这是欧洲各国退出该项目的整体趋势的最新一例。 6park.com 6park.comHalf a dozen eurozone countries offered the visas at the height of Europe’s debt crisis in 2012 to help plug gaping budget deficits. Countries that needed international bailouts — Spain, Ireland, Portugal and Greece among them — were especially desperate for cash to repay creditors, and saw a path to bring in investors while reviving their moribund real estate markets. 6park.com2012年，当欧洲债务危机最严重的时候，六个欧元区国家提供了这种签证，以帮助填补不断扩大的预算赤字。那些需要国际救助的国家——其中包括西班牙、爱尔兰、葡萄牙和希腊——尤其迫切需要现金来偿还债务，同时也看到了一条在重振垂死的房地产市场的同时吸引投资者的途径。 6park.com 6park.com
When Ana Jimena Barba, a young doctor, began working at a hospital in Madrid last year, she moved in with her parents half an hour outside the city until she could save enough to buy her own home. But when she started looking at houses in the same village, almost everything was priced at more than 500,000 euros. 6park.com黄金签证项目为西班牙带来了数十亿欧元的投资，但富有的外国人支付的房价远远超出了当地人的收入能力。 6park.com 6park.com马德里的萨拉曼卡街区是该市的高档地区，这里的房价不菲。 6park.com 6park.comCountries reaped a windfall: Spain alone has issued 14,576 visas linked to wealthy buyers making real estate investments of more than €500,000. But the prices that they can afford are squeezing people like Dr. Barba out of a market that had already been highly inflated by the rise of Airbnb and the draw of Wall Street investors. 6park.com这些国家发了一笔横财：仅西班牙就向房地产投资超过50万欧元的富裕买家发放了14576份签证。但这些人能承受的价格正在将像巴尔巴这样的人挤出市场，而这个市场本来就已经因Airbnb的崛起和吸引来的华尔街投资者而暴涨。 6park.com 6park.com“Access to housing needs to be a right instead of a speculative business,” Pedro Sánchez, Spain’s prime minister, said in a speech this month as he announced the end of the country’s golden visa program. “Major cities are facing highly stressed markets, and it’s almost impossible to find decent housing for those who already live, work and pay their taxes.” 6park.com“获得住房必须成为一项权利，而不是一项投机行为，”西班牙首相佩德罗·桑切斯在本月宣布结束该国黄金签证计划时发表讲话时表示。“各大城市都面临着高度紧张的市场，对于那些已经在生活、工作和纳税的人来说，几乎不可能找到像样的住房。” 6park.com 6park.com安娜·希梅纳·巴尔巴是马德里的一名医生，为了攒钱买房，她和父母住在一起。 6park.com 6park.comThe visas make it easy for people outside the European Union to buy the right to temporary residency, sometimes without having to live in the country. Investors from China, Russia and the Middle East flocked to buy real estate through them. 6park.com这些签证使欧盟以外的人可以轻松购买临时居留权，有时甚至不必居住在该国。来自中国、俄罗斯和中东的投资者纷纷通过这些签证来购买房地产。 6park.com 6park.comIn recent years, British nationals have followed suit in the wake of Brexit, snapping up homes in Greece, Portugal and Spain, joined by an increasing number of Americans looking to enjoy a lifestyle they can’t afford in major U.S. cities. 6park.com近年来，英国脱欧后，英国国民也纷纷效仿，在希腊、葡萄牙和西班牙抢购房产，越来越多的美国人也加入其中，希望享受在美国大城市无法负担的生活方式。 6park.com 6park.comBut golden visa programs are now being phased out or shut down around Europe as governments seek to undo the damage to the housing market. And after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, E.U. officials urged governments to end them, warning they could be used for money laundering, tax evasion and even organized crime. 6park.com但随着各国政府寻求消除对房地产市场的损害，欧洲各地的黄金签证计划目前正在逐步取消或关停。在俄罗斯入侵乌克兰之后，欧盟官员们敦促各国政府终止此类行为，并警告称它们可能被用于洗钱、逃税甚至有组织犯罪。 6park.com 6park.comPortugal, which has reaped more than €5.8 billion in investment from the visas, modified its program in October to remove real estate as an investment to reduce speculative buying and cool an overheated housing market. An influx of foreigners has displaced thousands of low-income Portuguese citizens from homes in cities like Lisbon. 6park.com葡萄牙通过相关签证获得了超过58亿欧元的投资，该国于去年10月份对相关项目进行了修改，取消了房地产投资项目，以减少投机性购买房产的行为，并试图给过热的房地产市场降温。外国人的涌入导致数以千计低收入葡萄牙公民离开他们在里斯本等城市的家园。 6park.com 6park.com雅典的蒙纳斯提拉奇广场是一个旅游胜地。希腊是欧洲仅存的几个提供黄金签证项目的国家之一。 6park.com 6park.com雅典的潘格拉蒂社区是希腊计划中备受投资者欢迎的地区。 6park.com 6park.comThe government in Lisbon is trying to fix the affordable housing problem with new rules that would require landlords to rent empty flats to families, capping rents and converting some commercial real estate to housing. 6park.com里斯本政府正试图通过新规定解决经济适用房问题，这些规定要求房东向家庭出租空置公寓，限制租金并将一些商业地产转变为住房。 6park.com 6park.comIreland shut down its program last year, in part to address concerns that Russian nationals were laundering money through it. 6park.com爱尔兰去年关闭了该项目，部分原因是为了解决俄罗斯公民通过该项目洗钱的担忧。 6park.com 6park.comGreece, one of the last countries in Europe to offer a golden visa, is raising its foreign investment threshold to €800,000 from €500,000 in the Athens area and on popular islands including Mykonos and Santorini. The country’s prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, acknowledged severe housing shortages and pressure on rental markets, especially around Athens, but he said the government still wanted to draw investors. Greece raised €4.3 billion in investment from the visas from 2021 to 2023 alone. 6park.com作为欧洲仅有几个还在提供黄金签证的国家之一，希腊正在将雅典地区以及米科诺斯岛和圣托里尼岛等热门岛屿的外国投资门槛从50万欧元提高到80万欧元。该国总理基里亚科斯·米佐塔基斯承认住房严重短缺，租赁市场面临压力，尤其是雅典周边地区，但他表示政府仍希望吸引投资者。仅2021年至2023年，希腊就通过该签证获得了43亿欧元的投资。 6park.com 6park.comA report released by the Institute of Labor Economics in March said the visa programs had helped spur economic development in countries offering them. But governments need to strike “a delicate balance between reaping economic benefits and safeguarding against potential risks,” including money laundering and rampant gentrification, the report said. 6park.com劳动经济研究所三月份发布的一份报告称，相关签证项目有助于刺激提供这些签证国家的经济发展。但报告称，各国政府需要在“获得经济利益和防范潜在风险之间取得微妙的平衡”，其中包括洗钱和发展过快的士绅化。 6park.com 6park.com在西班牙，中国投资者占签证申请者的近半数，其次是俄罗斯投资者。 6park.com 6park.comThe pullback is coming as a broader housing crisis grips Europe, after years in which its real estate markets have undergone a profound metamorphosis that has increasingly pushed out modest-income workers, including doctors, teachers and police officers. 6park.com这一退出趋势正值欧洲面临更广泛的住房危机之时，欧洲房地产市场多年来经历了一场深刻的蜕变，日益将医生、教师和警察等中等收入工作者挤出市场。 6park.com 6park.comGentrification has spread throughout European cities for decades, but the rise of Airbnb and other short-term rental providers has accelerated the affordability crisis. That was especially the case in countries affected by Europe’s debt crisis, where property owners discovered they could make more by renting to tourists than to locals whose finances had been squeezed by austerity programs. 6park.com几十年来，士绅化在欧洲城市蔓延，但Airbnb和其他短期租赁提供商的崛起加速了房价可负担性危机。在受欧洲债务危机影响的国家尤其如此，那里的业主发现，把房子租给游客比租给手头拮据的当地人更好赚。 6park.com 6park.comGolden visa programs compounded the strain. In Greece, which initially granted foreigners a five-year residency visa if they invested €250,000, many apartment and home listings around Athens and on breezy Greek islands suddenly shot up from bargain-basement prices to €250,000, well out of reach for most Greeks. 6park.com黄金签证项目加剧了这种压力。在希腊，外国人只要投资25万欧元就可以获得5年的居留签证。在雅典周边和微风吹拂的希腊岛屿上，许多公寓和房屋的价格突然从极低价位飙升至25万欧元，令大多数希腊人望尘莫及。 6park.com 6park.com位于雅典地区比雷埃夫斯的卡斯泰拉社区因地势高而吸引了富有的买家。 6park.com 6park.com比雷埃夫斯的帕萨利马尼社区风景优美，前往希腊岛屿的渡轮也很方便，吸引了许多外国投资者。 6park.com 6park.comLaura McDowell, an agent at the Athens-based Mobilia real estate agency, said that short-term rentals had made rents unaffordable in city centers, and the problem was worsened when investors from numerous countries converted homes purchased through golden visa programs to vacation rentals, further squeezing the supply of affordable housing. 6park.com劳拉·麦克道尔是雅典Mobilia房地产中介公司的一名经纪人，她说，短期租赁让市中心的租金变得难以承受，而当来自许多国家的投资者将通过黄金签证项目购买的房屋转换成度假租赁时，问题变得更加严重，进一步挤压了经济适用房的供应。 6park.com 6park.comThe scheme lured Chinese nationals in particular, with many flying to Athens carrying suitcases loaded with cash. Chinese investment companies also bought buildings in low-income neighborhoods and areas with student housing, renovating apartments and reselling them to visa seekers. Today, entire apartment blocks even in once undesirable zones in and around Athens are owned largely by foreigners. 6park.com该计划尤其吸引中国公民，许多人带着装满现金的手提箱飞往雅典。中国的投资公司还在低收入社区和有学生公寓的地区购买楼房，对公寓进行翻新，再转卖给寻求签证的人。如今，即使是在雅典市内及周边曾经不受欢迎的地区，也有整个住宅街区基本上由外国人拥有的情况。 6park.com 6park.com“Prices driven up by golden visas haven’t come down,” Ms. McDowell said. “Greeks have been priced out.” 6park.com“黄金签证推高的价格并没有下降，”麦克道尔说。“希腊人已经被高价挤出了市场。” 6park.com 6park.com希腊实施该计划后，雅典周边和微风吹动的希腊岛屿上的许多公寓和房屋挂牌价格突然从极低水平飙升至25万欧元，这对大多数希腊人来说都遥不可及。 6park.com 6park.com不断上涨的房地产价格使房主受益，但租房者却被挤出了市场。 6park.com 6park.comIn Spain, Chinese investors made up nearly half of visa seekers, followed by Russians. Low interest rates set by the European Central Bank compounded the problem in recent years by drawing more real estate investors outside the visa program, said Ernest Urtasun, Spain’s culture minister. 6park.com在西班牙，中国投资者占申请签证人数的近一半，其次是俄罗斯人。西班牙文化部长欧内斯特·乌尔塔松说，近年来，欧洲央行设定的低利率吸引了更多在签证项目之外的房地产投资者，从而加剧了这个问题。 6park.com 6park.comThe Spanish government plans to construct 40,000 social housing units for people with limited resources as part of a broader plan to restore affordable lodging. 6park.com西班牙政府计划为资源有限的人建造4万套福利住房，作为恢复经济适用房的更广泛计划的一部分。 6park.com 6park.comBut it is uncertain that will help people like Dr. Barba quickly. Despite Spain’s recovery from the financial crisis, wages have failed to keep pace with the growth in the real estate market. Nearly a fifth of workers earn the minimum wage of €1,134 a month, while rents in Madrid jumped 15 percent in 2023. A 3.2 percent inflation rate has added to the strain. 6park.com但目前还不确定这是否能迅速帮助像巴尔巴这样的人。尽管西班牙在从金融危机中复苏，但工资水平未能跟上房地产市场的增长步伐。近五分之一的工人每月的最低工资为1134欧元，而马德里的房租在2023年上涨了15%。3.2%的通货膨胀率更是增加了压力。 6park.com 6park.comDr. Barba has been saving money for the past three years for a down payment on a home. She rented a room in a shared apartment in Barcelona when she began training as an allergist at a downtown hospital. But her monthly income was consumed by basic living expenses including food, rent and transport. 6park.com在过去三年里，巴尔巴一直在为买房的首付款存钱。她在巴塞罗那的一间合租公寓里租了一个房间，开始在市中心的一家医院接受过敏症专科医生的培训。但她每月的收入都被食物、租金和交通等基本生活费用耗尽。 6park.com 6park.comTo save more, she transferred to the hospital in Madrid and now lives with her parents rent-free outside the city, working overtime to bump up her salary to €1,900. But with homes even in her parents’ village priced at half a million euros, she feels hopeless. 6park.com为了节省开支，她转到马德里的医院，现在住在城外的父母家中，这样就省下了房租，还通过加班工作，把收入提高到1900欧元。但是，即使在她父母的村子里，房子的价格也高达50万欧元，她感到绝望。 6park.com 6park.com“It would take years to save up enough to put down a deposit on a home,” Dr. Barba said. “Buying a home is just a dream.” 6park.com“要攒够买房的定金，可能需要很多年，”巴尔巴说。“买房只是一个梦想。” 6park.com 6park.com西班牙是2012年欧洲债务危机最严重时期提供黄金签证的六个欧元区国家之一。 6park.com 6park.com马德里的乌塞拉社区被称为唐人街。中国买家在这个城市买了很多房子。
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