U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans Tuesday to introduce a new “gold card” residency permit, priced at $5 million each, as a high-cost alternative to the traditional green card. He argued that the initiative would attract job creators and help reduce the national deficit.
“We’re going to be selling a gold card. You have a green card—this is a gold card,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “We’re going to be putting a price on that card of about $5 million.”
The Republican president, who has prioritized mass deportations of undocumented migrants in his second term, said the gold card would offer a pathway to U.S. citizenship for wealthy individuals.
“A lot of people are going to want to be in this country, and they’ll be able to work and provide jobs and build companies,” Trump said. “It’ll be people with money.”
Sales of the permits are expected to begin in about two weeks, with Trump estimating that as many as one million could be sold. “We have it all worked out from a legal standpoint,” he added. He assured that all applicants would undergo thorough vetting.
When asked whether wealthy Russians would be eligible, Trump said it was possible.
“I know some Russian oligarchs that are very nice people,” he remarked. “They’re not as wealthy as they used to be. I think they can afford $5 million.”
Many Russian oligarchs have been hit with Western sanctions since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine three years ago. Trump has stirred concern in European capitals by unexpectedly engaging in negotiations with Russia to end the war, prompting fears that he may compromise Ukraine’s interests.
While the president did not rule out lifting sanctions on Russia, he stated it was not currently under consideration.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, standing alongside Trump in the Oval Office, endorsed the gold card proposal, saying, “We can use that money to reduce our deficit.”
Trump, known for branding hotels and casinos throughout his business career, even suggested the new card could bear his name.
“Somebody said, ‘Can we call it the Trump Gold Card?’ I said, ‘If it helps, use the name Trump,’” he said.