https://thehill.com/opinion/5181040-trump-golden-visa-plan/
President Trump’s announcement of a new $5 million “gold card” residency permit has raised eyebrows, and for good reason. At first glance, the proposal seems simple enough: foreign investors prepared to invest a significant amount secure access to the U.S. citizenship. But look closer, and the problems start piling up — from money laundering to soaring housing prices that push ordinary Americans out.
Although golden visa programs bring in money, they have a messy track record. They let the wealthy buy their way in, often hurting the country more than helping it. Trump is pitching this as an economic win, but if history is any guide, it could lead to scandals, public outrage and eventual collapse — just like similar programs in Europe.
But before looking overseas, consider the EB-5 visa, the very program Trump’s plan would replace. It was supposed to create jobs in struggling areas but ended up fueling luxury real estate booms in places like Manhattan and Beverly Hills. Instead of lifting up small towns, it became a loophole for billionaires to buy green cards, leaving working-class communities with empty promises and shattered dreams.
Worse, the EB-5 was riddled with schemes and abuse. Investors and developers manipulated the system, fabricating job numbers or misusing funds. Some cases made national headlines, like the developers at Vermont’s Jay Peak ski resort who siphoned off millions for personal gain. Even with these scandals, the program dragged on for years, kept alive by deep-pocketed real estate interests.
If this was the outcome with a $500,000 buy-in, what happens when the price jumps to $5 million? Raising the stakes might weed out small-time scammers, but it could open the floodgates for oligarchs and billionaires looking for a safe haven to park dirty money.
This brings us back to Europe, where golden visa schemes once hailed as economic lifelines have turned into cautionary tales. Countries that eagerly rolled out the red carpet for the wealthy are now dealing with the fallout — soaring property prices, gutted communities and a flood of questionable money.
Nowhere is this clearer than in the United Kingdom, where the investor visa program ran unchecked for years before the government finally shut it down in 2022. By then, however, the damage was done.
London’s skyline tells the story. Glass towers rise over the city, many of which are dark at night. They stand as striking symbols of a decade of reckless foreign investment. For years, the city acted as a personal safety deposit box for the rich and influential. Penthouses in Mayfair, mansions in Kensington and high-rise apartments in Canary Wharf were snapped up not for living but for stashing fortunes, far from prying eyes.
The visa program promised jobs, investment and economic growth. What it delivered was something entirely different — essentially, a backdoor for Russian oligarchs, Chinese tycoons and dubious billionaires with questionable wealth to park their money. While ordinary Britons faced skyrocketing housing costs, foreign investors swept up luxury properties in Kensington, Mayfair and Canary Wharf — often paying in cash, no questions asked.
Investigations later revealed a rather sobering reality: In the rush to embrace foreign capital, the U.K. government had done little to vet applicants properly. Background checks were hurried, and at times, overlooked entirely. Banks turned a blind eye to suspicious transactions. Shell companies funneled in dirty money, allowing sanctioned individuals and known criminals to secure U.K. residency without scrutiny. Once a place of financial prestige, London became a laundromat for the world’s shady elites.
Meanwhile, the impact on housing was devastating. Luxury developments sprang up, but many units remained unoccupied — purchased solely as investments. The average Londoner, already struggling with sky-high rent, found it even harder to afford a home.
Greece faced a similar dilemma. Its golden visa program was heavily marketed to Russian and Chinese investors. It promised a fast track to residency in exchange for property purchases. This resulted in housing prices in Athens and other major cities skyrocketing. Apartments that once housed Greek families were turned into short-term rentals for wealthy foreigners and tourists. Young couples who once had a shot at homeownership were pushed to the suburbs or trapped in a cycle of endless renting.
Portugal followed the same path and paid the same price. In Lisbon and Porto, foreign investors flooded the real estate market, driving up prices and hollowing out once-thriving neighborhoods. Entire districts became investment zones, packed with luxury properties that stood empty for most of the year.
Public anger reached a breaking point, forcing the government to end the program. By then, however, just like in London, the effects were irreversible. The rush for easy money had come at the expense of local communities.
If Europe’s golden visas fueled housing crises and became magnets for dirty money, what makes Trump’s $5 million plan any different?
There’s also a moral dimension to consider. In a nation where tens of millions struggle with health care costs, housing insecurity and stagnant wages, the idea of selling citizenship for $5 million feels grotesque. It sends a clear message: If you’re rich enough, the doors are wide open. For everyone else, the process is slow, bureaucratic and often insurmountable.
This two-tiered system erodes trust in government and fuels resentment. How do you explain to a family waiting years for a green card that someone else can skip the line with a fat check? How do you reconcile a policy that prioritizes foreign millionaires over hardworking immigrants seeking a better life?
Trump’s supporters may argue that this is just capitalism at work — America selling what others are willing to buy. But citizenship isn’t a commodity. It’s a commitment to a set of values, a shared future and a national identity. Reducing it to a transaction cheapens the very idea of what it means to be American.
