U.S. President Donald Trump has unveiled the launch of his long-anticipated “gold card,” a program offering legal status and a pathway to American citizenship. This opportunity is available for individuals who invest $1 million (approximately $1.5 million AUD) and for corporations paying double that amount per foreign-born employee.

Applications for the program are now open, with a dedicated website going live today. Trump announced the program’s commencement during a gathering with business leaders in the Roosevelt Room at the White House.

This initiative aims to replace the existing EB-5 visa program, which was established by Congress in 1990 to foster foreign investment. The EB-5 program allowed individuals to gain residency by investing around $1 million in a business that creates at least 10 jobs.

Trump envisions the revamped program as a means to attract and retain top talent while boosting federal revenue. The gold card is designed as a strategic move to enhance the U.S. economy and workforce.

The President has been promoting the gold card initiative for several months. Initially, he proposed a price of $5 million per card but has since adjusted the pricing to $1 million for individuals and $2 million for corporations per foreign employee.

The president said all funds taken in as part of the program will “go to the US government” and predicted that billions would flow into an account run by the Treasury Department “where we can do things positive for the country”.

The new program is actually a green card, effectively offering permanent legal residency with the chance for citizenship.

“Basically, it’s a green card but much better,” Trump said.

“Much more powerful, a much stronger path.”

The president made no mention of requirements for job creation for applying corporations or on overall caps on the program, which exist under the current EB-5 program.

Instead, he said he’d heard complaints from business leaders who had been unable to recruit outstanding graduates from US universities because they were from other countries and lacked permission to stay.

“You can’t hire people from the best colleges because you don’t know whether or not you can keep the person,” Trump said.

Investors’ visas are common around the world, with dozens of countries offering versions of “golden visas” to wealthy individuals, including the UK, Spain, Greece, Malta, Australia, Canada and Italy.