“The Devil is in the Details, and We Don’t Have Any Yet”: Investment Migration People in the News This Week

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Investment migration people in the news this week included:

• Rohit Kapuria of Saul Ewing LLP
• Laura Foote Reiff of Greenberg Traurig LLP
• Matthew Galati of The Galati Law Firm
• Nuri Katz of Apex Capital Partners
• Kristin Surak
• Dimitry Kochenov
• Michael Wildes of Wildes & Weinberg
• Nuno Cunha Barnabé
• Dominic Volek, Basil Mohr-Elzeki, Dr. Christian Kaelin, Dr. Juerg Steffen, and Marios Rafail of Henley & Partners
• Dominic Jones of Greener Pastures New Zealand
• Varun Singh of XIPHIAS Immigration
• Russell A Stamets of Circle of Counsels
• Armand Arton of Arton Capital
• John Hu of John Hu Migration Consulting
• Kim Ji Sun of Dae Yang Immigration Law Group
• Grace Tang of Phillip Private Equity
• Sandeep Jain of Multipolitan
• Nicholas A Mastroianni III and Akshat Gupta of US Immigration Fund (USIF)
• Paul Williams of La Vida Golden Visas
• Jessica M Vaughan
• Piyush Gupta of CanAm Enterprises
• Kripa Upadhyay
• Ishaan Khanna of the American Immigrant Investor Alliance (AIIA)
• Prashant Ajmera of Ajmera Law Group
• Simon Gordon of Sovereign Corporate Services Dubai
• Poorvi Chothani of LawQuest
• Aarushi Gupta of Donoso & Partners

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Bloomberg Law – Trump Gold-Card Visa Called Addition, Not Alternative, to EB-5

“There is precedent for that,” said Rohit Kapuria, a partner at Saul Ewing LLP and vice chair of the firm’s global immigration and foreign investment practice. “We can accomplish both goals.”

[…]

“High net worth individuals tend to come here off and on,” said Laura Foote Reiff, an attorney at Greenberg Traurig LLP. “They don’t want to become tax residents of the United States.”

[…]

“The idea that the program could be ended or somehow amended before that came as a big surprise to practically everyone,” said Matthew Galati, principal attorney at The Galati Law Firm. “The devil is in the details and we don’t have any yet.”

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Bloomberg – What to Know About Trump’s $5 Million ‘Gold Card’ Visa Plan

Nuri Katz, founder of Canada-based immigration consultancy Apex Capital Partners, said investors taking advantage of the program would most likely need a net worth of roughly $50 million and estimated that “50 to 200” people would apply. He said he expects people from Asia, including China and the Middle East, as well as Russians and Canadians to be the first to look at these visas.

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Al Jazeera – Trump’s ‘gold’ visa: Who qualifies, what it costs and why it’s divisive

This would make it “the most expensive golden visa option in the world,” according to Kristin Surak, associate professor of political sociology at the London School of Economics.

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While a US gold card would likely be in high demand, it may come with the unique drawback of exposing holders to US taxes, “no matter where they are in the world and no matter where their assets are”, said Surak.

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“However, most very wealthy people will structure their wealth so that they will not get hit by them,” she added.

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1A (NPR) – President Donald Trump’s ‘gold card’ citizenship program

We discussed the topic not too long ago with Kristin Surak, when her book, “The Golden Passport: Global Mobility for Millionaires,” was released. She sits down with us to talk about Trump’s plan.

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CNN – A tiny island country is selling citizenship for $105,000 to save itself from rising seas

Few of these new passport holders are likely to ever even visit remote Nauru, but citizenship allows people to lead “global lives,” said Kirstin Surak, associate professor of political sociology at the London School of Economics and the author of The Golden Passport: Global Mobility for Millionaires. This can be particularly useful for those with more restrictive passports, she told CNN.

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The success of the program will depend on how “revenues are channeled into the country, and what they are used to do,” Surak said. That means vetting and transparency on where the funds go, and preventing people who would otherwise be prohibited from being granted passports from paying officials off the books to get one, she added.

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The Washington Post – As Trump pitches U.S. ‘gold card,’ what other countries offer golden visas?

The idea of any wealthy person buying a passport has been controversial in the countries with investment migration programs, said Dimitry Kochenov, a professor at the Central European University Democracy Institute. Spain, for example, is ending its golden-visa program in April.

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“In the majority of democratic settings, we presume that democracy is a closed world which should … be protected from all kinds of outsiders and that outsiders should be really special, meaning that they shouldn’t simply be buying their membership in our democracy,” Kochenov said.

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“Let’s be honest, it’s not a well-functioning immigration system,” Kochenov said. “Simplifying it in order to reap the benefits based on the special position of the U.S. in the world is something that is absolutely fundamental.”

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Kristin Surak, an associate professor of political sociology at the London School of Economics, said Trump was probably overestimating the interest there would be in the gold card. When Australia and Britain had similar golden-visa programs at high price points, the countries typically got less than 1,000 applications a year, said Surak, who wrote the book “The Golden Passport: Global Mobility for Millionaires.”

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Dominic Volek of Henley & Partners said that since Trump’s announcement, his firm’s “phones have been ringing off the hook,” mainly from clients wishing to accelerate their applications for EB-5 visas due to fear that the program will be discontinued. “It’s less interest in the gold card itself because I think there is still a way to go in terms of any type of legislative framework or enactment. … It’s really very vague at this stage,” he said.

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The New York Times – How Trump’s ‘Gold Card’ Plan Echoes the Golden Visas Programs in Europe

The program could mirror the “golden visas” that have existed for years elsewhere. European visas have been especially desirable, said Dominic Volek, global head of sales for Henley and Partners, an advisory firm that helps clients use investments to obtain residency or citizenship, because often you don’t have to reside in the country to get one.

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Overall, countries across the European Union had earned more than €21.4 billion through the programs as of 2022, and more than 130,000 people had gained European citizenship or residence, according to research by Kristin Surak, an associate professor of political sociology at the London School of Economics.

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Yes, and American interest in them has surged since the 2024 election. Mr. Volek said that online inquiries to his company from Americans increased 400 percent in the 48 hours after Mr. Trump’s victory, and that there had been a “massive spike” in the number of applications submitted.

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First Post – Trump’s ‘gold card’ too expensive? These countries offer residency via golden visas

“Faced with unprecedented instability and uncertainty, investors and wealthy families are adopting a strategy of geopolitical arbitrage to acquire additional residence and citizenship options to hedge against jurisdictional risk and leverage differences in legal, economic, political, and social conditions across countries,” Dominic Volek, Group Head of Private Clients at Henley & Partners, said in a statement.

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Financial Times – Donald Trump adds ‘gold card’ to global cash-for-visas competition

Michael Wildes of Wildes & Weinberg, an immigration lawyer who has worked with clients including Melania Trump, said: “The [EB-5] law has over time been perfected so that it stands the test of economics, presidents, politics and world interests.”

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While people on US sanctions lists would be barred from the scheme, Nuno Cunha Barnabé, a lawyer who advises on Portugal’s golden visas, said: “The big question is whether the [US gold card] programme is available to people who are sanctioned by the EU or the UK.”

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But even as they leave, there are compelling reasons for others to want to get to the US, said Dominic Volek, head of private clients at Henley & Partners, a firm that helped design citizenship programmes in Europe and the Caribbean.

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“It’s still an amazing country for wealth creation — and wealth preservation,” Volek said. “In countries like China and India, the wealth creation opportunities are second to none. But once you get to a certain level of wealth, it’s the preservation that becomes a little bit more challenging.”

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Bloomberg – What’s a Golden Visa and Where Can You Still Get One?

Caribbean islands including Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada and St. Kitts and Nevis offer some of the most competitive citizenship by investment programs, with investment options starting at just over $200,000. Other countries with similar programs include Egypt, Jordan, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Austria, according to London-based consultancy Henley & Partners.

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Quartz – ‘Golden visas’ could be coming to the U.S. Here’s what they are and how they work

“From our perspective, the demand at the moment is huge,” Dominic Jones, the managing director of Greener Pastures New Zealand, which assists people in obtaining the New Zealand Active Investor Plus visa, told Quartz. “It’s unprecedented and we’re blown away by the interest.”

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Between 2019 and 2024, Henley & Partners, a firm dedicated to assisting the wealthy obtain golden visas, reported a 1,000% increase in its American client base. Dominic Volek, the firm’s group head of private clients, told Quartz that more Americans have sought out his firm for assistance obtaining residency or citizenship by investment than the next four countries combined.

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“It’s rising geopolitical uncertainty, retrenching of globalization, and risk mitigation,” Jones explained. “In the same way high network individuals mitigate risk in their own investments by having a portfolio, having a second residency or citizenship option is something they are increasingly looking into.”

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Forbes – New Zealand To Relax Golden Visa Program In April 2025

Dominic Jones, Managing Director of Greener Pastures New Zealand, an investment and lifestyle advisory firm for people looking to move to New Zealand, believes people are turning to the country for three reasons—its lifestyle, safety and political stability.

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Henley & Partners, an immigration firm for high-net-worth individuals, ranks New Zealand’s golden visa (called the Active Investor Plus visa) in the top 10 of golden visas globally because of how much it protects investors and the ease of starting and doing business there.

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PBS News – How Trump’s planned ‘gold card’ visa would work

Basil Mohr-Elzeki, managing partner Henley & Partners North America, said the programs often help countries meet investment goals. But they don’t always last.

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“We do think that there will be significant demand in this program,” he said. “We are just waiting on on the details of what frameworks that they’re going to be outlining.”

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“Typically speaking, the lower the residency requirements, the more popular the program as those wealthy individuals globally, they like options,” he said. “So they may be investing in the United States, but they may invest elsewhere as well — to have access to live in the States, access to live in Europe, access to live in the UAE. So all of these come into play.”

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The European – Video Interview with Dr. Christian H. Kaelin of Henley & Partners

In 2023, the European Commission initiated a landmark case against Malta over its controversial Golden Passports. This case has significant implications not only for EU member states but also for the global investment migration sector. At the heart of the issue is the right of an EU country to determine who is entitled to be one of its nationals and, by extension, who is a citizen of the European Union. Should this decision be the exclusive and sovereign right of individual member states, as provided by the Treaty on European Union, or should it be the EU that decides? To explore these big questions, Juliette Foster speaks with Dr. Christian Kaelin, Chairman of Henley & Partners and one of the world’s leading experts on citizenship by investment.

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USA Today – You could buy citizenship to this tiny Pacific island for $105,000

“By mobilizing international investment, we can provide immediate, non-debt funding for climate resilience projects, offering a crucial financial lifeline for vulnerable nations while enabling investors to support global climate action,” said Dr. Juerg Steffen, CEO of Henley & Partners, in a statement to USA TODAY. “Rethinking how private wealth and capital intersect with public survival is key to bridging the climate finance gap. Investment-based residence and citizenship programs have emerged as one such mechanism, channeling funds into adaptation, mitigation and sustainable development efforts in high-risk regions.”

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The Indian Express – With Trump’s ‘Gold Card’ announcement, a look at why countries offer ‘golden visas’

Henley & Partners (H&P), a global firm working in residence and citizenship by investment, says on its website: “In its most basic form, golden visa acquisition, commonly associated with residence by investment, denotes the process whereby qualified, vetted candidates are granted residence rights in exchange for a defined economic contribution to the host country.”

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First Post – Why the Greece ‘golden visa’ is one of the world’s most popular

“When real estate goes up, houses become more expensive for local people, which results in higher rents. So, there were reactions due to which the government made these changes,” Marios Rafail, executive director (private clients) at Henley & Partners told Firstpost.

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Varun Singh, managing director at XIPHIAS Immigration, a top Indian immigration consultancy, echoed similar views. “Starting from €250,000 (now increased in some areas), Greece offers one of the most affordable golden visa programmes. Its booming real estate offers a strong return on investment and high rental yields,” he told Firstpost.

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Business Standard – End of EB-5 visa: Why the $5 mn US ‘Gold Card’ blow hits rich Indians hard

“The increase from $1 million to $5 million may be the most obvious difference between the EB-5 programme and Trump’s ‘golden visa,’ but it is definitely not the most dramatic change,” Russell A Stamets, partner at Circle of Counsels told Business Standard.

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Varun Singh, managing director of XIPHIAS Immigration, on the other hand said the move could push Indian investors towards alternative global residency programmes.

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“The removal of the EB-5 visa programme would be a severe blow to Indian investors, the US economy, and bilateral ties. It has been an economic driver, with Indian investors contributing billions of dollars to real estate, infrastructure, and technology sectors in the US,” Singh told Business Standard.

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Business Standard – Gold Card will be better than Green Card: Trump on new visa scheme

“The investment threshold for the majority of other golden visas remains significantly lower than Trump’s proposed ‘gold card’, available to those investing at a minimum of $5 million. The US government’s initiative is clearly targeted at ultra-high-net-worth individuals – in comparison, Greece and Portugal’s minimum investment threshold starts around the $265,500 mark. These cost-effective options, combined with the benefits of the Mediterranean lifestyle, will continue to attract wealthy immigrants. The pull factors of access to the Schengen Zone, favourable tax regimes, and long-term security are too great to ignore,” said Armand Arton, CEO of Arton Capital.  

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Reuters – Trump’s $5 million ‘gold card’ visa unlikely to attract wealthy investors, advisers say

The EB-5 visa was primarily used by Hong Kong and China residents who owned businesses in the U.S. or wanted their children to study in the U.S., said John Hu, founder of Hong Kong-based John Hu Migration Consulting.

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“The total number of applicants, if the golden visa is going to replace the EB5, will drop significantly,” Hu told Reuters, adding global tax liabilities were always a concern for rich people.

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“It could be a negotiation tactic to increase the amount of U.S.-bound investment but considering the amount I don’t think demand from Korea will increase significantly,” said Kim Ji Sun, president of Dae Yang Immigration Law Group in Seoul.

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“It also requires congressional approval so Trump alone cannot decide to eliminate the current EB-5 program. EB-5 is also about investing money so eliminating it wouldn’t make sense.”

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Grace Tang, CEO at Singapore-based Phillip Private Equity, which helps family offices apply for Singapore’s global investor program, which gives local residency rights, said U.S. global taxation rules could be a deterrent.

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Forbes India – Will Donald Trump’s Gold Card visa find takers?

“The client initially expressed confusion following Trump’s announcement and started inquiring about alternative programmes such as the Canada startup visa and Portugal golden visa,” says Sandeep Jain, senior managing partner at Multipolitan. “However, after our attorney clarified the legal distinctions and explained that the Gold Card does not serve as an immediate replacement for the EB-5 programme, his interest in EB-5 was restored.”

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“The proposed $5-million Gold Card visa has sparked significant discussion, but Indian investors should focus on what’s real today: The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Programme. EB-5, authorised through 2027 under the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act, allows investors to obtain US permanent residency with an $800,000 investment into TEA-qualified projects. Investors who apply before September 30, 2026, are protected under current laws and will be processed based on current EB-5 regulations,” says Nicholas A Mastroianni III, president and CMO of US Immigration Fund (USIF), which specialises in EB-5 visas.

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Paul Williams, CEO of UK- based La Vida Golden Visas, which has a lot of clients from India for EB-5, concurs. Though the EB5 is bureaucratic and takes time, it works well as an entry to the US and as an option to get your funds returned, he says. “It also has far greater reach because of the lower price point. Although capital is at risk, there is a high likelihood of returns. In our experience Indian investors want something back. So, paying over $5 million as a contribution will need to come with some financial returns. Avoiding tax on overseas income is an obvious incentive, but we await clarification.”

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Business Standard – US ‘Gold Card’ visa: Pay $5 million and get US citizenship; EB-5 to be axed

The employment-based EB-5 visa provides a direct pathway to a green card. Over recent years, interest in the programme had grown among Indians. “With the uncertainty surrounding H-1B policies and long waiting times for green cards, many professionals, particularly those already in the US, are looking at EB-5 as a more secure, long-term solution,” said Akshat Gupta, director of business development at US Immigration Fund (USIF), in a discussion with Business Standard.

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At a US House Judiciary Committee hearing on January 22, 2025, immigration expert Jessica M Vaughan argued that some green card programmes were reasonable in concept but needed stricter rules and oversight to curb fraud and abuse.

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Investor visas are widely used worldwide. According to Henley & Partners, over 100 countries, including Dubai, New Zealand, and several European nations, offer similar “golden visas” to attract wealthy individuals.

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Business Standard – US firms can buy Gold Card for $5 million to hire top Indian grads: Trump

“Investors must note that as of now the EB-5 programme remains in effect. From its inception, the EB-5 programme has been legislated by Congress, and under the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA), it was reauthorised through September 30, 2027. Any changes to the programme would require congressional approval,” Piyush Gupta, Vice President, India and Middle East, CanAm Enterprises, a company specialising in EB-5 investments, told Business Standard.

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“The increase from $1 million to $5 million may be the most obvious difference between the EB-5 programme and Trump’s ‘golden visa,’ but it is definitely not the most dramatic change,” said Russell A Stamets, partner at Circle of Counsels, in comments to Business Standard.

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Times of India – Donald Trump cannot abruptly terminate EB-5, those who invest up to Sept 2026 are fully protected

The President can propose new immigration legislation, but only Congress can make new laws and amend existing laws. Kripa Upadhyay, immigration attorney said, “Trump cannot unilaterally end the EB-5 program. It was created by Congress in 1990 and is codified in the Immigration and Nationality Act. Any attempt to eliminate or replace it requires legislative action, an unlikely scenario in a divided Congress.”

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Ishaan Khanna, President, American Immigrant Investor Alliance (AIIA) added “Should the Trump administration seek to end the EB-5 program, it would need its Republican allies in Congress to introduce a bill to do so. Such legislation would need to pass both houses of Congress, including the Senate, where standing rules require the invocation of “cloture” to limit debate and advance a bill to a final vote — else, the bill may be “filibustered.” Invoking cloture requires 60 votes, and Senate Republicans (many of them supporters of the EB-5 program) only number 53. Unless the administration can convince at least seven Democratic senators to vote in favour of such a bill (which is unlikely), if all senate Republicans support it, any legislation to abolish and/or replace the EB-5 program will never be passed.”

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Some investors are worried that the Trump administration will order US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) — which is an executive branch agency — to reduce or completely pause the processing of EB-5 petitions. “This is a valid concern, and, we believe that any such directives may be successfully challenged and enjoined in court, as it would be unlawful. AIIA will be at the forefront of any litigation against USCIS regarding actions adverse to EB-5 investors,” said Khanna.

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Business Standard – Golden visas: Indians curious about it but few apply. Expert explains why

President Donald Trump has said that he plans to offer a “gold card” visa with a path to citizenship for $5 million. Golden visa schemes, which offer residency in return for investments, are an attractive option for settling down abroad quickly. Wealthy citizens of China, Russia and West Asian nations pursue such schemes but Indians are typically hesitant to commit. Prashant Ajmera, an immigration lawyer at Ajmera Law Group, spoke with Surbhi Gloria Singh to explain why Indian “curiosity” about golden visas does not always turn into applications. Edited excerpts from a telephonic interview:

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The concept of golden visas first emerged in 2012, with Portugal introducing the programme in response to the fallout of the 2008 financial crisis. If you examine the early statistics, there were hardly any Indian applicants. However, interest among the Indian community began to grow when remittance regulations from India were eased. Even so, the number of Indians who have actually invested and relocated remains relatively small.

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Economy Middle East – GCC countries witness rise in citizenship and residency through investment programs

Simon Gordon, managing director at Sovereign Corporate Services Dubai, writes an op-ed dicussing the rise of RCBI in the GCC.

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The implementation of investment residency programs in the GCC reflects the region’s focus on diversifying their economies into non-oil activities, leveraging foreign investment and expatriates. These initiatives offer expatriate investors the opportunity to establish themselves in the region and contribute to the local economy. As these programs evolve and extend to more nations, it is evident that the GCC is solidifying its position as a global hub for innovation and business. Therefore, residency programs are creating a mutually beneficial offering for both parties. 

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The Economic Times – US citizenship? Pay $5 million as you pass go

“The number of people applying to invest to migrate to the US will definitely scale down if the executive order by Trump manages to get approval from the Senate and Congress,” said Poorvi Chothani, founder of global immigration law firm LawQuest. “EB-5 is accessible to many more and there is an almost certainty (with it of) getting their invested amount back. The fact that $5 million is a sunk cost will be a deterrent and out of reach for many.”

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Russell A Stamets, partner at New Delhi-based business law firm Circle of Counsels, said, “Trump has promised gold card visa holders that their worldwide income outside of the US would be untaxed, which is a better deal than US citizens, who are taxed globally. If a business owner makes substantial income from non-US markets, the tax savings alone might exceed $5 million in a few years.” However, he said the details are sketchy at present.

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“There may be major lawsuits and backlash in response to the announcement,” said Aarushi Gupta, managing director (India operations) at Donoso & Partners.