The $5 million trump card faces legal challenges, limited markets

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President Donald Trump’s $5 million trump card has attracted strong interest from wealthy people overseas, but it faces legal challenges and questions about potential market sizes, according to immigration managers.

Trump launched a website in June for a new immigration plan, first called the “Gold Card” and then renamed “The Trang Card.” In a brief survey, we asked whether the stakeholder’s name, email, region, and trump card was “self”, “family”, “spouse”, or “other” and whether the application came from a business or individual.

Commerce Executive Director Howard Lutnick told the Financial Times that 70,000 people have already signed up and the cards are made with Real Gold. In March, he said the potential market for the card was 37 million. He said selling 200,000 cards would give the Treasury a net profit of $1 trillion, helping to repay federal debt.

The trump card has stimulated the fast-growing market for investment or “golden” visas. This allows wealthy individuals to purchase residencies or citizenship in other countries in exchange for six or seven-figure investments. According to Henley & Partners, a record 142,000 billionaires will move to other countries this year amid growing political turmoil and unrest. According to Henry, the UK is expected to lose 16,500 billionaires due to changes in its tax programme. The biggest winner, the UAE, is expected to add 9,800 billionaires, while the US is expected to win 7,500 net.

The trump card also arrives as many countries once supported by wealthy people, including Spain, Portugal and Italy, tighten their investment and VISA programs amidst populist opposition and political backlash.

However, in an interview with immigration lawyers and a wealthy, political staff adviser involved in the program, they said the trump card faces basic legal and tax obstacles. Furthermore, even if it was approved and ultimately offered, the number of buyers is part of what the White House proposed and could taper after the initial burst of buyers.

“Every week, I have been able to put steps in place to finally get there,” Dominic Volek, group head of private clients at Henley & Partners, advises wealthy people with visas and passports. “But there are still many question marks in terms of how successful it will be at the end of the day.”

The latest questions are in demand. Lutnick had promoted 70,000 sign-ups as evidence of potential sales, but anyone can sign up on websites that request more information, regardless of their net worth. Immigration lawyers, family firms, bankers, wealth managers and advisors of all sorts to wealthy people around the world said they signed up to provide information on the trump card for potential clients.

“I submitted two registrations and now have access to the details once they become available,” said Theda Fisher, a partner at Withers Bergman LLP, who advises wealthy clients.

According to the latest figures from data company Altrata, a population of over $30 million outside the US is a reasonable cutoff for those willing to spend $5 million on a visa.

The immigration lawyer said the biggest demand is likely from China and the Middle East. According to Altrata, China has around 46,000 super tall individuals (over $30 million) and around 19,000 in the Middle East. The US tensions with China and the Chinese government’s restrictions on capital flights could limit the number of wealthy Chinese people who buy candidate cards, lawyers said.

Praise of the concept’s program, Volek estimated that demand for trump cards would be around 2,000 a year.

“I think thousands of people can achieve this a year,” he said.

Depending on the country, he said the demand likely reflects that of the current EB-5 program. This reflects the long-standing US visa system that gives applicants a path to residence and citizenship that is about $1 million. China controls the EB-5 program, with mainland Chinese investors accounting for up to two-thirds of the 8,354 EB-5 visas issued in 2023, according to State Department data. Other countries in the general EB-5 applicant pool include Vietnam, India, Taiwan and South Africa.

Other Golden Visa advisors said they saw interest mainly from Mexico, the UK, Russia and Brazil. The White House has not said whether the $5 million card covers families or just individuals.

Companies are looking for technical talent from all over the world, and they could possibly emerge as key players for playing cards. Trump, for example, said Apple, reports would buy “a lot” of Trump cards. (Apple declined to comment).

Ultimately, all demand depends on the specific conditions of the trump card that is already causing controversy. Trump and Rutnick say the Trump cards will replace the EB-5. This is supported by heavy Congressional lobbying and bipartisan supporters. The EB-5 program, which links investments to job creation in underemployed areas, was reapproved until 2027, so changes and cancellations will require Congressional approval.

“The EB-5 program will be created by Congress, and only Congress may abolish it,” said the Alliance of Immigration Investors, which is seeking to increase the number of EB-5 visas available.

Screening and review remain separate, unresolved questions. The US dramatically expanded its programme after it discovered that Ukrainian invasions were approved by Russians after using unpopular, non-dominant programs (similar to trump cards). It is unclear whether the Trump administration, which has fought against China over trade, will grant free access to Chinese citizens who apply. The administration also did not comment on how it plans to screen terrorism, organized crime, money laundering or relations with foreign intelligence reporting agencies.

However, the biggest hurdles for trump cards include taxes. The United States is one of the few countries in the world that taxes income around the world. This means that American citizens and permanent residents must pay federal income tax on income earned outside the United States.

Trump confirmed that Trump cardholders are exempt from overseas income, but he said in the true social post that “wealthy people will come to our country by purchasing this card,” and that “pay a lot of taxes” is because he pays state and federal taxes on US supportive income.

Tax experts say changes to the tax laws of Trump cardholders require Congressional and IRS approval. So far, there are no laws in big beautiful bills or other bills that address changes.

Unprecedented tax exemptions can also lead to loopholes. For example, wealthy Americans can allow those with double citizenship in other countries to waive US citizenship, buy trump cards, and regain access to the US without global income tax.

The administration has also not yet provided information on whether Trump cardholders will be exempt from real estate or gift tax. This is usually more important and costly than the income tax of super wealthy people.

“There are many questions, including how different tax positions are treated, the duration of their ability to exempt global income taxes, the impact of real estate taxes, and who will be included in one donation,” Fisher said. “For this reason, we asked most clients to sign up and wait and see the approach. Unless this program really makes sense from a long-term tax and real estate perspective, many high-net individuals don’t apply.”