The President of United States, Donald Trump has announced plans for a new “gold card” visa, priced at $5 million (N7 billion), offering wealthy individuals permanent residency in the U.S. and a pathway to citizenship.
Speaking at his first cabinet meeting of the current term, Trump said the visa would function similarly to a green card but would be reserved for “high-level people.”
“The people that can pay $5 million, they’re going to create jobs,” Trump stated. “It’s going to sell like crazy. It’s a bargain.”
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, also present, said the initiative would replace the current EB-5 visa program for foreign investors but provided few specifics. He criticized the EB-5 program as “poorly overseen and poorly executed” and argued that the new scheme would be an improvement.
Many countries, including Portugal, offer similar “golden visa” programs, granting residency to foreigners who make significant investments.
Trump suggested that revenue from the visa sales could help pay off U.S. debt and that businesses would use the program to bring in productive workers. Typically, green card holders can apply for U.S. citizenship after five years.
Details on eligibility criteria, possible exclusions, or a cap on the number of visas issued remain unclear. In 2024, the State Department issued over 12,000 EB-5 visas, a record high for the program.
