Trump announces "golden visas" for millionaires in the US

US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday the creation of 'golden visas' in the country, authorizing the residence of millionaires who will have the same privileges as permanent residents.

"We're going to put a price tag on [the residency permits] of about $5 million (4.7 million euros), and that will give them the privileges of a 'green card', with a path to American citizenship," Trump told reporters at the White House.

"Green cards" are issued to permanent residents of the country, at the end of a lengthy approval process.

Trump equated these authorizations with those announced today, which he called a "gold card" and a "Trump gold card", suggesting that they could be named after him.

"This is going to attract a lot of people to our country who will be rich and successful, who will spend a lot of money, who will pay a lot of taxes, and who will provide jobs for a lot of people. We believe this is going to be a great success," the US President said.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who met with Trump in the Oval Office, added that the measure would take effect in about two weeks and would replace the EB-5 Investor Immigration Program.

This allows investors, along with their spouses and children under the age of 21, to obtain permanent residency in the United States.

Lutnick claimed, without providing evidence, that the EB-5 program was "fraudulent" and would therefore be replaced.

The EB-5 visa in the United States was created by the Immigration Act of 1990 and offered foreign investors the possibility of obtaining permanent residency if they made a substantial investment in a business in the United States and, in return, generated at least 10 full-time jobs for US citizens or immigrants with work authorization.

Over the years, Congress has changed this program and its access conditions several times.

In 2022, the minimum investment to qualify for the EB-5 program was set at $1,050,000, although some exceptions were made.