This version of the article first appeared on CNBC’s Inside Wealth Newsletter. This is Robert Frank, a weekly guide to wealthy investors and consumers. Sign up to receive future editions directly in your inbox.
Experts say President Donald Trump’s proposal for a $5 million “gold card” for US residency would be the most expensive thing in the world.
But that also includes tax loopholes that give new cardholders a lucrative benefit that American citizens cannot use, experts say.
This week, Trump announced the creation of a new investment visa that gives the path to wealthy permanent residency and citizenship abroad in exchange for $5 million. Lawyers who advise wealthy people on migration and investment visas say demand is already strong.
“The introduction of the Gold Card Visa Program represents a unique opportunity for high-net individuals looking to secure US housing with a path to citizenship,” said Dominic Borek, director of private clients at Henry & Partners. “The United States remains an indisputable leader in the creation and accumulation of private wealth.”
Others who respond to Volek and Global Rich say they have already called from clients who want to buy a gold card for their playing cards. According to Henry, approximately 135,000 of the world’s billionaires are projected to move to the new country in 2025. The United Arab Emirates and the United States are usually at the top of the list of destinations.
“I think they’re going to sell like crazy,” Trump said at his first cabinet press conference on Wednesday. “It’s a bargain.”
Although details remain unknown, the proposal will fundamentally change the US residency pathway for Global Rich, which now has to navigate a patchwork of programs with strict restrictions to stay within the country. It also marks a major tax change for the global wealthy in the United States, marking new loopholes for gold cardholders.
Currently, US citizens, permanent residents, and green card holders are required to pay income tax on their US income and income earning overseas, including in their own country. US taxes on global income have traditionally been far less attractive to the global wealthy, who have traditionally spread US residents and citizenship around the world and often refuge in tax havens.
Trump said gold card holders are not subject to taxes on foreign income. This provision means that Gold Card residents can purchase tax benefits that are not available to US citizens. Advisors say the program is waiting for a clearer order, as it allows for dual classes of taxpayers among the wealthy Americans.
However, international income is much more appealing to the ultra-rich people around the world.
“This will be a big start” in tax treatment, said Laura Foot Leaf, lawyer for Greenberg Traurig, who specializes in business immigration. “There are many wealthy individuals who have families who don’t invest in US businesses or become permanent residents because they don’t want tax consequences.”
Tax loopholes are one of the reasons why the government can claim a premium on the Gold Card. At $5 million, the program will be the most expensive in the world. Volek said Singapore’s global investors program requires an investment of $10 million, or about US$7.5 million. New Zealand’s most expensive programs require investments of up to $10 million or about $5.7 million.
Most investment visa programs around the world cost less than $1 million, lawyers say.
According to Henry, about 100 countries offer some kind of investment visa programme, and about 60 jurisdictions are actively promoting the programme. With several jurisdictions in Malta, the United Arab Emirates, Portugal, Italy and the Caribbean, some of which control $20 billion in investment migration operations per year.
At a press conference Wednesday, Trump and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said the US gold cards will replace the current investment visa program called EB-5, which offers green cards to those investing at least $900,000 or $1.8 million, depending on the region and the project. The EB-5 program is plagued by a history of delays and fraud and abuse. The program was updated by Congress in 2022 to lead investments to more rural, poor communities and infrastructure projects.
When it comes to applicants, China is the largest source of those seeking EB-5 visas, and Taiwan, Vietnam and India are also highly ranked. According to the State Department, the US issued over 12,000 EB-5 visas last year, with two-thirds heading towards Chinese citizens.
The wealthy Chinese are also the dominant users of investment VISA programs around the world, including Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
Trump said the US could sell 1 million gold cards, but lawyers say the potential for demand is only a small portion of that total. There are around 424,000 people worldwide worth more than $30 million, of which 148,000 are in the United States and around 277,000 very wealthy people abroad.
But immigration lawyers say only a small number of cases are likely to apply to living in the United States. Last year, the US had a net influx of around 3,800 billionaires, according to Henry.
“It sounds high for hundreds of thousands,” Foot Leaf said. “There may be companies that pay to attract top talent, like research scientists, who want to bring here and who aren’t subject to quotas.”
One of the major attractions of the new program is its tax benefits. Historically, permanent residents of the United States must pay income tax on their US income and their income earned abroad, including in their home countries. US taxes on global revenue are far less attractive to the global rich, where businesses spread around the world and often protected by tax havens.
Trump said he expects the biggest demand will come from companies (especially technologies such as Apple) that seek to hire top US college graduates from India, China or other countries but not get a proper visa.
