Cyprus, Spain, Portugal and Ireland have all been reeling from the global financial crisis since 2008, which plagued their inflated property markets and left their banks holding bad mortgages and deeds on real estate worth only a fraction of what it had been before the downturn.

Spain had a stockpile of unsold houses built during a construction boom that went bust in 2008, throwing some 5 million Spaniards out of work and resulting in 300 evictions a day in the first half of 2012, Australian Associated Press reported.

Most of the unwanted houses are located in desolate and less inhabitable suburbs, according to Shen Jie, a 25-year-old Chinese student at the Technical University of Madrid.

"If a Chinese person has to stay in an empty city for five years waiting for the permanent residents visa, without a job or Spanish skills, will he or she still be enthusiastic about the plan?" he asked.

Madrid's proposal would not allow foreigners to work in Spain.

"Operation Emperor", conducted by Spanish police in October, has also dampened Chinese investment, Shen added.

More than 50 Chinese were arrested during the operation, charged in a money-laundering scheme.

"Blindly wooing and injecting immigrants' money to revive the collapsed property market, instead of reflecting on the crux of the economic deadlock, could bring more problems to Spain," Shen said.

Related: Cyprus targets Chinese for investment and immigration

Growing racism is one example, said a Chinese person in Spain who asked not to be named.

"I don't feel the trust in Spain that I did in the other Western countries, and it was frustrating to often be asked to check my bags when entering a supermarket and show my passport when paying with a credit card," said the man, who intends to move to Cyprus.

But Cyprus, with 180,000 migrants, is also gripped by xenophobia, Cyprus Mail cited an official as saying.

"You can forget about Cyprus if you want to make a living, because its own nationals already have employment difficulties, but it may be a good option for those who have stable overseas incomes and would like to telecommute," the man said.

"People who want to immigrate to Europe need to make careful choices based on their needs and situations, as well as what these countries can really provide you."