Donald Trump announces £3.8m 'gold card' and explains what it gets you as he's the 'first buyer'
President Donald Trump has introduced a new premium-level visa called the 'gold card', months after announcing plans for a 'green-card-privileges-plus- visa.
The US leader spoke to the press on Air Force One, revealing the $5 million (£3.8 million) option to gain residency for foreigners with more money to spare than others.
Trump said that he was the first buyer of the card, but doesn't know who's next, while adding that the visa would 'probably' be out in 'less than two weeks'.
Showing off to reporters, he said: "For $5 million, this could be yours.
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"That was the first of the cards. You know what that card is?
"It’s the gold card - the Trump card," he coined.
It's a move that provides an alternative to the existing EB-5 programme, which offered willing investors to apply for US residence if they made an investment between $800,000 to $1 million in a commercial enterprise that created 10 or more jobs.
Despite Trump not knowing who the next buyer is, Howard Lutnick, the Commerce Secretary, made the bold claim in March that over 1,000 gold cards had been sold.
He also added that 37 million people around the world had the means to get one, taking a few jabs at the EB-5 programme, calling it 'make-believe and a fraud'.
“It was a way to get a green card that was low priced,” he claimed, saying that gold card holders would be investing in America, and that there was 'a line for EB-5 of 250,000 right now.
This visa programme had been around since the 1990s, and though the requirements to apply have changed, Trump has introduced his own visa.
“You're getting big taxpayers, big job producers, and we'll be able to sell maybe a million of these cards, maybe more than that,” Trump explained about people interested in the card.
There are two types of visa in the US - regular non-immigrant visas, which are normally issued for work, study, or tourism, and immigrant visas, which can give individuals a pathway to American residency, also known as a Green Card.
This would normally require family or employer sponsorship, or humanitarian programmes to support you.
But with the 'gold card', the President highlighted that it was aimed at those 'of wealth or people of great talent'.
Trump said that it would be a way to bring in investors what will build companies and create jobs to contribute to the economy, though did not provide job creation requirements.
He said that they would have to be vetted to ensure they were 'world-class global citizens', hinting that a million could be sold to generate money for the government.
While more details can be expected in a couple of weeks, the programme also won't give holders American citizenship on the spot.
Gold visa holders will have the right to work towards citizenship, requiring them to be residents of the US first.
Green card holders usually have to live in the country for five years before being allowed to apply for a passport, though it is unsure what the rules on this new visa are.
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News
Joshua Nair