In the first half of 2026, foreign citizens purchased 62,327 residential properties in Spain, which is 13% less than during the same period last year. At the same time, the average price of homes purchased by foreigners rose by 9.4% to a record €2,644 per square meter, according to data from the General Council of Notaries of Spain (Consejo General del Notariado) released on October 15.
According to the Notarial Statistical Information Center (CIEN), this marks the largest annual decline in the number of transactions involving foreign buyers since the first half of 2020. The share of foreigners in the total number of residential property transactions fell to 18.3%, compared to 19.2% a year earlier and 20.3% in 2024.
The most notable decline was seen among buyers who do not have Spanish resident status. They purchased 22,940 properties, 18% fewer than a year earlier. This category accounted for 36.8% of all transactions by foreign buyers.
Foreigners residing in Spain purchased 39,387 properties, or 63.2% of the total number of purchases by foreign citizens. Compared to the first half of 2025, their activity declined by 10%.
Despite the decline in the number of transactions, housing prices continued to rise. Non-residents paid an average of €3,493 per square meter, which is 11.8% more than a year earlier. For foreign residents, the average price was €2,102 per square meter (+9.8%), while Spanish citizens purchased homes for an average of €1,971 per square meter (+8.7%).
Moroccan citizens were the largest group of foreign homebuyers in the first half of the year, accounting for 4,960 transactions, or 8% of the total number of foreign purchases. For the first time, they surpassed British citizens in this category, who accounted for 4,541 transactions (7.3%).
Italy took third place with 4,109 transactions (6.6%), Romania fourth with 3,974 transactions (6.4%), and Germany fifth with 3,907 transactions (6.3%).
The highest average price of purchased real estate was recorded among U.S. citizens—€3,948 per square meter. They were followed by buyers from Sweden (€3,839), Germany (€3,763), Switzerland (€3,760), and Norway (€3,588).
Ukrainians also remain a significant group of foreign buyers of Spanish residential real estate. Although the notary office’s brief report for the first half of 2026 does not provide specific absolute figures for Ukrainian citizens, the relevant information is contained in the official statistics of the Spanish College of Registrars.
According to the registrars’ data, in the first quarter of 2026, Ukrainians accounted for 3.08% of all registered residential property purchases by foreigners, ranking tenth among nationalities. This corresponds to approximately 764 transactions.
In the second quarter, the share of Ukrainians was 2.94%, and their ranking dropped to eleventh. Based on the total number of registered transactions by foreigners, Ukrainian citizens accounted for approximately 789 purchases.
Thus, according to the results of the first half of 2026, Ukrainians may have purchased about 1,550 residential properties in Spain, based on the methodology of the Board of Registrars.
However, the statistics from registrars and notaries are not identical. According to registrars, foreigners purchased approximately 51,600 properties during the first half of the year, while notaries recorded 62,300 transactions. This discrepancy stems from differences in the stages of transaction registration and statistical reporting methods. Therefore, the estimated number of purchases by Ukrainians cannot be directly correlated with the total number of transactions according to notary data.
At the same time, notary statistics show that the largest annual decline in purchases by specific nationalities was recorded among citizens of Russia (-26.2%), China (-26.1%), the United States (-22%), Bulgaria (-21.6%), Belgium (-21.3%), and the United Kingdom (-21%).
Among the main groups of foreign buyers, only citizens of Venezuela (+10.2%) and Colombia (+7.4%) showed an increase in the number of properties purchased.
Geographically, foreign buyers remain most active in tourist and coastal regions. Specifically, in the Valencian Community, non-residents purchased 9,250 properties, accounting for 40.3% of all purchases in this category in Spain. Another 5,800 transactions took place in Andalusia, and 2,046 in the Canary Islands.
Among foreign residents, the highest number of transactions was recorded in Catalonia—8,516—the Valencian Community—8,196—and Andalusia—6,007.
The number of home purchases by foreigners declined in nearly all of the country’s autonomous communities. The exceptions were Castile-La Mancha (+4.4%) and Extremadura (+3.3%).
The sharpest declines were recorded in Cantabria (-20.5%), the Canary Islands (-20.3%), and the Autonomous Community of Madrid (-19.7%). In the Balearic Islands and Valencia, the number of transactions fell by 15.4%.
At the same time, prices for foreign buyers rose in 15 of the 17 autonomous communities. The most significant price increases occurred in Cantabria (+23%), Asturias (+22.3%), Extremadura (+16.4%), Valencia (+15.6%), and Madrid (+15.4%).
Current statistics indicate a shift in the Spanish market: after several years of high activity, the number of purchases by foreigners has begun to decline, while the value of purchased real estate continues to reach new highs.
For international investors and foreigners planning to move to Spain, this means rising costs for purchasing a home even as demand weakens. At the same time, regional differences remain significant, and the market for coastal resorts continues to differ substantially from that of the country’s inland regions.
The Consejo General del Notariado is the national representative body of the Spanish notarial profession. Its statistical center, CIEN, analyzes data on notarized transactions. The Colegio de Registradores maintains separate statistics on registered real estate rights, including data broken down by the buyers’ citizenship.
Poland’s Deputy Minister of the Interior, Maciej Duszkiewicz, highlighted the contribution of Ukrainians to the functioning of the Polish economy. He made this statement during an appearance on Polsat News.
Polsat News reports that Duszczyk believes that in many cases, the absence of Ukrainians is noticeable. “If it weren’t for Ukrainian citizens, we’d be waiting 10 minutes for the bus instead of five. After all, they fill the gaps in the Polish labor market. That’s why a certain part of the Polish economy depends on refugees from Ukraine. Generally speaking, these are Ukrainians living in Poland, and we need to reiterate this more and more often, because if a situation were to arise where one day all Ukrainians united and refused to go to work, the Polish economy would grind to a halt,” he said.
He also criticized the Law and Justice (PiS) party’s proposal to deport unemployed men of draft age from Ukraine. In this context, the figure of 3,000 people has been mentioned in public discussions. “Three thousand is a small group. Let me remind you that 900,000 people have been mobilized in Ukraine, so this is no help at all. In fact, those who aren’t working in Poland are either caring for their disabled children or are people who were wounded on the front lines and are undergoing rehabilitation in Poland,” he said.
When asked whether refugees will begin returning to Ukraine once the war ends, Dushchyk replied that “this is a process we’ve observed in other countries, and it’s very easy to predict.”
“Sometimes, those who say, ‘I’m staying,’ end up leaving because something happens. And those who say, ‘I’ll leave as soon as the war ends,’ end up staying. Of course, these trends change with each passing month, as the roots they put down in the host society—in this case, Polish society—grow deeper and deeper. “If someone has enrolled their children in school, they’re learning Polish; if a person is working in the labor market, the likelihood that they’ll return to Ukraine without a strong incentive to do so is practically very low,” he noted.
Ukrainians in the U.S. under Temporary Protected Status (TPS) were set to lose their Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) as of July 22, but a Massachusetts court temporarily suspended that decision the day before, according to Valeriy Chaly, chairman of the board of the Ukrainian Cultural and Media Center (UKMC), who served as Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S. from 2015 to 2019.
“On July 22, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians with TPS status were set to lose their jobs in the U.S. Because initially there was one regulation, and then the president’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act’ (IBBBA) was introduced, and it shortened the validity period of the work permit—the so-called EAD—to July 22… In just one state, the matter went to court, and that court has so far temporarily suspended the decision,” Chalyi described the situation during a discussion organized by NV dedicated to lobbying and promoting Ukraine’s interests in the U.S.
The diplomat noted with regret that the new wave of Ukrainian refugees in the U.S. has so far been unable to unite and organize to defend themselves, and many advocacy organizations dealing with issues of American political and military support have also failed to provide assistance to Ukrainians.
“The situation for these Ukrainians in America is very difficult right now. But our government isn’t doing anything about it—not at all,” Chalyi noted, although, in his opinion, the vast majority of these Ukrainians will not return to Ukraine anyway.
He told the “Interfax-Ukraine” news agency that the current TPS term for Ukrainians expires on October 19 of this year, and if it is not extended and a person does not have any other legal status, they will have to leave the U.S. According to Chaly, the decision to extend this status must be made no later than 60 days before its expiration, that is, by mid-August.
According to information on specialized websites, on July 21, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, in the case of Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts v. USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services), issued an emergency injunction preventing the termination of EADs for TPS beneficiaries—including Ukrainians—effective July 22. A final decision on this matter is expected no later than August 5, 2026.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may extend TPS status for Ukrainians for 12 or 18 months; if DHS does not issue a decision by August 20 of this year, the status will be automatically extended for another 6 months.
According to the nonprofit organization Nova Ukraine, the cost of the initial TPS application is $510, while a TPS-based EAD costs $1,030, and the reduced fee under certain conditions is $560.
Current estimates indicate that more than 100,000 Ukrainians hold TPS status in the U.S.
As previously reported, the EU recently decided to extend temporary protection for Ukrainians for another year—until March 4, 2028—but to impose restrictions on granting it to those subject to military service.
Ukrainians remain a key foreign workforce for the Polish economy: as of the end of January 2026, 757,700 Ukrainian citizens were officially employed in the country, accounting for nearly 68% of all employed foreigners, according to the analytical center of the international recruitment company Gremi Personal, citing Poland’s Central Statistical Office (GUS).
The total number of foreign workers exceeded 1.1 million—a 7.1% increase from the previous year. “More than a million foreign workers is no longer a response to a temporary labor shortage, but a structural change in the Polish economy. Businesses have grown accustomed to operating in conditions where it is impossible to ensure the normal functioning of manufacturing, logistics, construction, the service sector, and agriculture without foreign workers,” notes Yevhen Kirichenko, founder of Gremi Personal.
According to him, this trend will have long-term consequences for the entire region of Central and Eastern Europe, including Ukraine.
“Once the war ends, Ukraine will find itself in a situation where it will have to simultaneously rebuild its economy, implement large-scale infrastructure projects, and compensate for demographic losses. However, at the same time, Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic, and other countries will also need workers. In effect, competition for the same workforce will begin,” Kirichenko believes.
Analysts emphasize that Ukrainians are already well-integrated into the European labor market, know the languages, have work experience, and do not require a long adaptation period. For employers, this means lower integration costs compared to hiring workers from more distant countries. At the same time, they also point out that Ukraine has so far had virtually no discussion on how to compensate for a potential labor shortage, and if, after the war, a significant portion of the population chooses to work abroad, the country will face a labor shortage precisely when workers are needed most for economic recovery.
The Consulate General of Ukraine in Lyon will resume consular services for citizens starting July 9, following the completion of administrative procedures and technical preparations, the consulate announced on its official website.
Appointments will be scheduled via an online queue, and a separate appointment system is in place for vulnerable groups. The Consulate General urged Ukrainians to familiarize themselves in advance with the procedures for obtaining consular services and the document requirements.The consular district of the Consulate General of Ukraine in Lyon covers three regions of France: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, and Corsica. Citizens residing in these regions will be able to register for temporary and permanent consular registration, register the acquisition of Ukrainian citizenship by birth, and register adopted children.
At the same time, other consular services will be provided without restrictions based on place of residence in France. The Consulate General also clarified that foreign passports previously issued by the Embassy of Ukraine in France can only be obtained at the Embassy of Ukraine in France.
The Consulate General also plans to provide mobile consular services in remote cities with the highest concentration of Ukrainians. The first such visits are scheduled for September in Nice and October in Marseille. The possibility of providing mobile services in other cities may also be considered depending on the community’s needs.
The opening of the Consulate General in Lyon is expected to reduce the workload on the Embassy of Ukraine in France and simplify access to consular services for Ukrainians living in the southeastern part of the country, particularly in the regions of Lyon, Grenoble, Marseille, Nice, and Corsica.
According to Eurostat, as of April 30, 2026, there were 4.37 million non-EU citizens in the EU under temporary protection who had fled Ukraine due to the war; more than 98.5% of them were Ukrainian citizens. At the same time, regarding France, Eurostat specifically notes that its data typically does not include minors, so official statistics on temporary protection do not fully reflect the total size of the Ukrainian community in the country.
According to media estimates, there may be approximately 80,000–100,000 Ukrainians in France who left after the start of the full-scale war, although some of them have already transitioned from temporary protection to other legal statuses or have left the country.
CONSULAR SERVICES, consulate general, FRANCE, Lyon, UKRAINIAN
Employers offered jobs to 1,554 Ukrainians aged 50 and older as part of the government’s “Experience Matters” program; as of June 22, 2026, 841 participants had successfully found employment, and another 713 are currently undergoing internships.
According to a statement on the website of the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture of Ukraine, more than 2,300 candidates have joined the initiative overall, while employers have posted nearly 2,600 job openings.
Kyiv, as well as the Lviv, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions, have shown the highest activity in terms of the number of candidates. The regions with the highest number of job openings are Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Rivne. The greatest demand is for salespeople of food and non-food items, accountants, drivers, unskilled laborers, cooks, office cleaners, security guards, seamstresses, janitors, and administrators.
The ministry notes that, given the labor shortage, workers aged 50 and older are an important group for the labor market; however, some of them face age-based stereotypes, the need to update their skills, or difficulties after a long break from work. To overcome these barriers, the program combines career counseling, assistance from the employment service, internships, and direct contact with employers.
Training, which began in the second half of June, is a separate component of the program. Specifically, the course on collaboration in intergenerational teams attracted 1,350 registrations, the course on digital tools and artificial intelligence (AI) received 1,100 applications, and the course on career strategy drew 883 applications.
The ministry added that the Ministry of Economy, the State Employment Service (SES), the Astarta agro-industrial holding, the Zhiznelub Charitable Foundation, the Federation of Employers of Ukraine (FEU), as well as the multi-donor initiative Skills4Recovery, Skills Alliance, and other partners are involved in implementing and funding the program.
As previously reported, the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture, together with its partners, launched the “Experience Matters” internship project for adults on May 11, 2026. The initiative is being implemented as part of the National Accessibility Strategy for 2026 and aims to address the labor shortage that, according to the EBA, affects 75% of companies in Ukraine. The project model is based on three components: a training program to update resumes and prepare for job interviews; face-to-face meetings with business representatives to discuss collaboration opportunities; and a hands-on internship lasting up to 10 days to assess mutual compatibility before making a hiring decision.
