- President Trump announced a plan for a $5 million gold card. It would replace the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program and costs around five times as much.
- Golden visas are used in countries around the world to provide temporary or permanent residency to wealthy immigrants.
- Congress first created the EB-5 immigrant visa program in 1990 “to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors.” But experts say it invites more fraud than other visa programs.
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The Trump administration has a plan to get wealthy immigrants into the United States. Trump’s gold card will allow foreigners to pay $5 million to live and work in the country with a possible pathway to citizenship.
“You have a green card,” President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Tuesday, Feb. 25. “This is a gold card. We’re going to be putting a price on that card of about $5 million. And that’s going to give you green card privileges plus it’s going to be a route to citizenship.”
“They’ll be wealthy, and they’ll be successful, and they’ll be spending a lot of money and paying a lot of taxes and employing a lot of people,” the president added. “And we think it’s going to be extremely successful.”
Many countries offer golden visas. Here’s how they work.
A golden visa is not a novel idea and is employed around the world.
Also known as “resident by investment,” these special visas provide temporary or permanent residency in the immigrant’s nation of choice. The investment could include starting a business, making a donation or simply buying property in the desired destination.
Golden visas are often bought by citizens of countries like China and Russia who want to relocate to places like Western Europe. Many countries don’t require full-time residency to secure the visa.
American interest in golden visas abroad picked up the week Trump won the 2024 election. Immigration firm Henley & Partners told Bloomberg American inquiries quadrupled from the week before.
There is also “citizenship by investment.” Securing citizenship in an EU member state like Malta could get you a “golden passport,” which allows you to travel and work in any of the bloc’s member nations.
Malta charges around $630,000 for its golden visa. The U.S. proposal of $5 million is among the richest in the world. Singapore’s program commands around $7.5 million. New Zealand is also one of the richer programs, but recently made changes to attract more interest.
Meanwhile, Spain is shutting down its golden visa program in April 2025.
How will Trump’s proposed golden visa work?
The president said while the plan could provide a path to citizenship, there are some limitations to what he can unilaterally do.
“We don’t need Congress now because we’re not doing citizenship,” Trump said in response to a question about needing congressional approval. “It’s a path to citizenship, a very strong path to citizenship. But we’re not doing citizenship. For that, I’d have to get Congress.”
The gold card would effectively replace the current EB-5 Immigrant Investment Program.
Why does Trump want to replace the existing EB-5 program?
Congress first created the program in 1990 “to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors.” EB-5 grants green cards to investors and their families who make necessary investments in the U.S. and create full-time American jobs.
If those investors target a higher unemployment area, the minimum investment is $900,000, according to government information on the program. Outside of the targeted employment area, the minimum investment doubles to $1.8 million.
“So the EB-5 program was really you lend some money, but it was full of nonsense, make believe and fraud,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters in the Oval Office. “And it was a way to get a green card that was low priced. So the president said rather than having this sort of ridiculous EB-5 program, we’re going to end the EB-5 program. We’re going to replace it with the Trump gold card.”
The Congressional Research Service said compared to other immigrant visas, EB-5 faces additional risks of fraud, particularly in verifying the investment funds are obtained legally.
Trump said all applicants under the program will “be vetted very carefully.”
The Trump administration said they will start selling the gold card in two weeks. Lutnick said the proceeds could be used to pay down national deficits.
