In order to give affluent buyers permanent residency in the United States and a route to citizenship, President Donald Trump has announced plans to sell a “gold card” visa for $5 million (£3.9 million).
Trump told reporters during the first cabinet meeting of his current term that the visas would be issued to “high-level people” and would work similarly to green cards, which permit immigrants with different income levels to live and work permanently in the US.
“The people that can pay $5m, they’re going to create jobs,” Trump stated. “It will sell out quickly. It’s a good deal.
Attending the conference as well, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stated that the gold visas will take the place of the current visa program for foreign investors, although he provided few specifics.
Many European countries, such as Portugal, grant “golden visas” or permanent residency to foreigners who deposit €500,000 ($524,000) in a qualifying fund. These are just a few of the dozens of nations that offer citizenship by investment programs.
Trump claimed that businesses will employ non-citizens to work for them in the US under the golden visa scheme.
“We have to be able to get people in the country, and we want people that are productive people,” Trump stated.
After five years, US green card holders can normally petition for citizenship.
Trump proposed using the money collected from the expensive visas to settle US debt.
According to Lutnick, the program will take the place of the EB-5 visa, which grants permanent residency to certain foreign nationals who invest approximately $1 million and establish ten or more full-time employment in the United States.
Lutnick claimed that the EB-5 program was “poorly overseen and poorly executed” and described the golden visas as a step in the right direction.
“We’re going to make sure they’re wonderful world-class global citizens,” Lutnick stated in reference to prospective gold card applicants.
The government’s selection process, any exclusions, and whether there would be a cap on the number of grantees were not immediately apparent.
The State Department issued more than 12,000 EB-5 visas in fiscal year 2024, setting a new program record.
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