| Photo by Dmytro Demidko on Unsplash
President Donald Trump’s bold immigration plan, which offers foreigners a pathway to US citizenship through a “gold card” visa, is now a hot button topic, opening up discussions and debates on whether it can spur the US economy or further drive inequality.
Dubbed the “golden visa” program that allows individuals to be granted permanent US residency by investing $5 million, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the proposal will replace the current visa program for foreign investors known as the EB-5 which grants “green cards” (permanent resident cards) to foreigners (plus their spouses and children under 21) who will invest $1 million in a business or company with 10 employees at the very least.
The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, created in 1990 by the US Congress, is administered by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services. It aims to “stimulate the US economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors.” Green card holders, including those who have EB-5 visas, have to live lawfully in the US for five years before they can apply for US citizenship.
According to Secretary Lutnick, the new “gold card” initiative would not have the job creation requirement under the EB-5 program, which he described as “low priced” and full of “nonsense, make-believe, and fraud.” In a recent interview, the US Commerce Secretary said there are already 250,000 individuals “waiting in line” to get one of the gold cards, giving the assurance that everyone will be “deeply vetted.”
“Wealthy people will be coming into our country by buying this card; they’ll be wealthy and they’ll be successful, and they’ll be spending a lot of money and paying a lot of taxes and employing a lot of people, and we think it’s going to be extremely successful,” said President Trump, disclosing that they can offer as many as 10 million “gold cards” to raise $50 trillion to pay off the $35-trillion US national debt and still have a $15 trillion surplus.
There are those, however, who are concerned that the initiative could promote divisiveness and inequality as it would allow the very rich, or the “ultra-high net worth individuals,” to “buy their way” into US citizenship and, unlike the EB-5 visa, will not be required to create jobs or put up businesses. On the other hand, those who approve of the new “golden card” initiative say it will boost the US economy. Critics of the EB-5 program also say it is rife with loopholes and has been prone to abuse, such as alleged backroom deals that have not benefitted rural and distressed urban areas which are supposed to be the intended beneficiaries of the investor visa program. The 10,000 annual limitation in issuing the investor visas has also resulted in long waiting times that turn off potential investors.
Many other countries are also luring investors by offering “golden visa” programs for wealthy individuals who can obtain citizenship by purchasing real estate or investing money, with the amounts varying in each country.
“The Philippines has become a very attractive investment destination, with the government offering various incentives to investors and a skilled, educated, and English-proficient workforce that is worth its weight in gold.“
According to Henley & Partners, a leading investment migration consultancy firm based in London, golden visa acquisition is a “process whereby qualified, vetted candidates are granted residence rights in exchange for a defined economic contribution to the host country.”
Data from the British firm says the golden visa legislation is now in place in over 100 countries worldwide, including Greece, Portugal, Italy, the UK, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Spain, Singapore, New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates, and Malta.
One of the most popular golden visa countries is Spain, which is popular among tourists because of its natural beauty, rich history, and diverse culture. Under the Spain Residence by Investment Program, a foreign individual and his immediate family members can become permanent residents after five years of continuous residence in the country and may become Spanish citizens through the acquisition of real estate with a minimum value of €500,000; investment funds, bank deposits or listed company shares in Spanish financial institutions with a minimum value of €1 million; or a government bonds investment with a minimum value of €2 million. (Unfortunately, Spain suspends its golden visa program effective April 3, 2025 due to concerns about rising property prices and housing affordability for citizens.)
The Golden Visa Program of Greece is also much sought-after with its diverse qualifying options, which include a € 250,000 specialized real estate investment € to convert commercial buildings into residential use, €400,000 for the purchase of a single property with a minimum size of 120 square meters, and $800,000 for the purchase of properties in certain cities and islands with more than 3,100 residents.
Even young Filipino professionals are showing increased interest in the EU’s golden visa programs, according to an article from Schengen News, which quoted a recent report by an international property marketing consultancy. Portugal and Greece are the top choices.
We should also try to implement the golden visa program in the Philippines to attract quality investors and help boost the economy. While the Philippines has the Special Investor’s Resident Visa that allows foreign visitors to stay indefinitely and then apply for citizenship after 10 years of continuous residency, the minimum required amount of $75,000 is “too cheap and too low,” said a local businessman.
I certainly agree with him. The Philippines has become a very attractive investment destination, with the government offering various incentives to investors and a skilled, educated, and English-proficient workforce that is worth its weight in gold.
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