President Donald Trump has proposed a “gold card” visa that would allow foreign investors to obtain American citizenship.
The idea of paying for citizenship is not necessarily new.
The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program dates back to 1990 and is open to investors who “make the necessary investment in a commercial enterprise in the United States” and “plan to create or preserve 10 permanent full-time jobs for qualified U.S. workers.”
However, the latest proposal would replace the EB-5 program with a so-called “gold card” visa that could be obtained for around $5 million.
“We are going to be selling a gold card. We are going to be putting a price on that card of about $5 million,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday, per Fox Business.
“It’s going to give you green card privileges, plus it’s going to be a route to (American) citizenship, and wealthy people would be coming into our country by buying this card,” the President explained.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, a supporter of the idea, says the current EB-5 program is broken and plagued by fraud.
“It was a way to get a green card that was low price,” Lutnick said.
“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.”
When asked by a journalist whether Russian oligarchs would qualify, Trump said it was possible.
“Yeah, possibly. Hey, I know some Russian oligarchs that are very nice people,” Trump replied.
Other countries, such as Portugal, Greece, Canada, Ireland, St. Lucia, Spain, and Turkey, already offer similar programs.
In the United Kingdom, for example, foreigners can pursue a Tier 1 (Investor) visa, which provides a path to citizenship for those who invest five to 10 million pounds, equivalent to roughly $6.3 million to $12.7 million.