US President Donald Trump has announced plans for a new “gold card” visa, a premium immigration route priced at US$5 million that would offer a pathway to US citizenship for wealthy individuals.

The initiative – which would replace the current EB-5 investor visa programme – is being positioned as a way to attract affluent foreign nationals who can generate jobs and stimulate the economy.

At his first cabinet meeting of the new term, Trump framed the proposal as a business-savvy solution to immigration, describing it as a “bargain” and predicting that it would “sell like crazy”.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, present at the meeting, echoed the enthusiasm but provided little detail on how the visa would function in practice.

The gold visa as a replacement for EB-5

The EB-5 visa, introduced in 1990, was designed to encourage foreign investment by offering green cards to individuals who invested at least $1 million in US businesses, provided they created at least 10 full-time jobs. In some cases, the investment threshold was lower – $800,000 for targeted employment areas.

The programme has historically been popular among Chinese and Hong Kong investors, particularly those looking to secure US residency for their children’s education.

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Trump and Lutnick were highly critical of the EB-5 system, with Lutnick dismissing it as being “full of nonsense, make-believe, and fraud”.

The new gold card, he argued, would bring in “wonderful world-class global citizens” who are capable of making substantial contributions to the economy.

However, details on eligibility criteria, the number of visas to be issued, and possible restrictions remain unclear.

A global market for citizenship

Trump’s proposal aligns with a global trend where nations offer residency or citizenship in exchange for investment.

Countries such as Portugal, through its “golden visa” scheme, grant residency to foreign investors injecting $524,000 into qualifying funds. Similar programmes exist in Malta, Greece, and other European nations.

Yet, these schemes have not been without controversy. The European Union has been applying pressure on member states to tighten or phase out initiatives that offer residency by investment, citing concerns over tax evasion, money laundering, and inflated property markets.

A 2021 study by researchers at the London School of Economics and Harvard University found that such schemes generate only a “miniscule” proportion of foreign investment with “negligible” economic impact.

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A strategy to address US debt?

Trump floated the idea that revenue from the gold card visa could be used to reduce the national debt, though he provided no specifics on how this would work.

Historically, investor visa programmes have been pitched as economic stimulants rather than direct revenue generators for the government.

Despite the ambitious pricing, not everyone is convinced of its appeal.

Bassim Haidar, a former UK non-domiciled multimillionaire, dismissed the offer, arguing that paying $5 million for a visa while becoming subject to US global taxation “defeats the purpose”.

Similarly, John Hu, a Hong Kong-based immigration consultant, predicted that raising the investment threshold to $5 million would significantly deter Chinese applicants who have traditionally favoured the EB-5 route.

“The total number of applicants, if the golden visa is going to replace the EB5, will drop significantly,” he told Reuters.