Donald Trump's 'gold card' visa program goes live

Friday, 12 December 2025 13:56

Foreign nationals who can fork out $US1 million can gain legal status and an eventual pathway to American citizenship.

US President Donald Trump has announced that his long-promised "gold card" was officially going on sale, offering legal status and an eventual pathway to American citizenship for individuals paying $US1 million ($1.5 million) and corporations forking out twice that per foreign-born employee.

A website accepting applications went live today as Trump revealed the start of the program while surrounded by business leaders in the White House's Roosevelt Room.

It is meant to replace EB-5 visas, which Congress created in 1990 to generate foreign investment and had been available to people who spend about $US1 million on a company that employs at least 10 people.

Trump sees the new version as a way for the US to attract and retain top talent, all while generating revenue for federal coffers.

He's been promoting the gold card program for months, and once suggested that each card would cost $US5 million, though he more recently revised that to the $US1 million and $US2 million pricing scheme.

The president said all funds taken in as part of the program will "go to the US government" and predicted that billions would flow into an account run by the Treasury Department "where we can do things positive for the country".

The new program is actually a green card, effectively offering permanent legal residency with the chance for citizenship.

"Basically, it's a green card but much better," Trump said.

"Much more powerful, a much stronger path."

The president made no mention of requirements for job creation for applying corporations or on overall caps on the program, which exist under the current EB-5 program.

Instead, he said he'd heard complaints from business leaders who had been unable to recruit outstanding graduates from US universities because they were from other countries and lacked permission to stay.

"You can't hire people from the best colleges because you don't know whether or not you can keep the person," Trump said.

Investors' visas are common around the world, with dozens of countries offering versions of "golden visas" to wealthy individuals, including the UK, Spain, Greece, Malta, Australia, Canada and Italy.

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