Trump Gold Card and Afrikaner asylum visa concerns, Grenada and Portugal emigration opportunities
With global turbulence during the Trump era and ongoing uncertainty surrounding the GNU, many South Africans are exploring ways to find a Plan B to secure their future and investments. Among the oppportunities available in the United States is the Trump Gold Card visa, a residency permit requiring a $5 million payment from wealthy foreigners. While it promises a pathway to permanent residency and citizenship, Sarah Young from Sable International told BizNews in an interview that she is not sure it is a viable route for South Africans. She notes the price tag—about R95 million—and questions whether it constitutes a genuine investment or a non-refundable donation to US authorities. Regarding the asylum offer to Afrikaners, she also warns that, as an asylum-based category, it could be revoked at short notice. Beyond the US, Young highlights the Portugal Golden Visa as an attractive option for South Africans, while Grenada in the Caribbean offers citizenship-by-investment programmes with a strong passport and visa-free travel opportunities, making it a compelling choice for building a flexible, international lifestyle.
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Edited transcript of the interview
Linda van Tilburg (00:08.136) With global turbulence during the Trump era and ongoing uncertainty in South Africa, there are South Africans who are still exploring offshore options for their future. Joining us in the studio is Sarah Young from Sable International, the immigration specialist, to shed light on what is possible. Hi Sarah, thanks for joining us.
Sarah Young (00:29.676) Hi Linda, thanks so much for having me.
Linda van Tilburg (00:32.91) Could we start by discussing how recent global turbulence has influenced South Africans interested in offshore opportunities?
Sarah Young (00:40.354) Yes, absolutely. I think the global changes and the speed at which changes are happening are making South Africans, in particular, who are hedging on a weaker currency, look for offshore options that are going to be more stable moving forward. From my side, I very much specialise in residency and citizenship by investment.
So, it's people looking for options outside of South Africa when they may not have a birthright or heritage option allowing them to pursue alternative avenues. We continue to see much interest in Europe as a destination. A lot of people, and more families, are globally dispersed now. So, it's about what the next option is potentially. What is the next chapter for them after South Africa? And also, what enables them to remain on the same timeframe as South Africa, potentially for business hours, family links, or retaining ties with South Africa, while being able to operate in a more stable, safe global economy.
Linda van Tilburg (01:50.157) What about expats who live in the Gulf states? The citizenship opportunities there are limited. What options are there for them?
Sarah Young (02:18.86) I think this is a very interesting expat market because most South Africans moving to the Gulf are doing so for business purposes, employment opportunities, and to build wealth. I think more families are looking at what the next stage is and where they go from there—to somewhere with permanence. Often, it's not to return to the home country but to look at alternative options.
Again, that may specifically be determined by the ages of children or family members, whether you're looking at retirement as the next option or whether it's more business opportunity. More people based in the Gulf are also gravitating towards Europe for abundant opportunities and, I think, more options for children, such as tertiary education. Centralisation around the globe, with not too many time zone differences from home countries, is also appealing. We also see many Brits based in the Gulf looking at Europe as an option. Something like the Portugal Golden Visa is something you can run alongside any current residency and working opportunities available to you. It ticks on in the background and opens up great options for further down the line.
Linda van Tilburg (03:38.388) What if you do that? What are the challenges? Is medical insurance an issue, and is citizenship attainable?
Sarah Young (03:48.706) It depends on the country and the route you want to pursue. If you take Portugal, for example, as a temporary resident, which you can secure through Portuguese residency, you would only really be afforded Portuguese medical care if you were to relocate and physically move to Portugal. But there are great medical facilities there. If you choose to actually relocate and live there, you can register for a social security number.
Although most expats would still opt to take out a domestic private Portuguese healthcare policy to run alongside their options to seek medical guidance from government facilities.
Linda van Tilburg (04:35.85) For South Africans who find their lifestyle too appealing but still want business freedom and global mobility, what local options are there now?
Sarah Young (04:45.172) Yes, we see many opportunities for people who don't want to leave South Africa. South Africa is glorious. I've lived here for 15 years. When the sun shines here, it's absolutely magnificent. Why would you go elsewhere? At the same time, I've got a British passport. I've got the freedom to go to the airport and get on a plane and travel to most countries around the world without a hitch. Whereas for South Africans, that's still a question around business freedoms and leisure freedoms.
If your children are studying overseas in the UK or Europe, for example, we see more people looking for tertiary education overseas. Do you know you can get to an airport and get on a plane in the case of an emergency to see them? Or we see more family members looking for retirement options overseas or becoming more nomadic.
So, it's possible, with a strong passport and visa-free travel options, to go to the UK for three months of the year to spend time with family members there, then spend three months in Europe, and come back to South Africa to enjoy a lovely long summer here. That can all be achieved through holding the right passport. In that type of circumstance, something like Grenada as a citizenship-by-investment option can yield huge benefits. We've also seen, as you referenced earlier, turbulence within the political and economic climate too.
For people with their own businesses, often seeking the right tenders, partners, or negotiating power requires short notice trips abroad to meet with the right people. Sometimes that's not facilitated on your home passport. So, it's about looking at other options that enable you to be more flexible.
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Linda van Tilburg (06:36.084) And Grenada is such an option?
Sarah Young (06:38.7) Absolutely. The Caribbean offers five different citizenship-by-investment programmes. Last year, they signed a memorandum of understanding between the five states to harmonise compliance and due diligence. From our perspective, we see more people opting for Grenada. It's a cost-effective solution. The passport itself and nationality can be passed on in perpetuity to future family members.
It means that if your children are included on the application from the offset, if they marry, their future spouses can take up Grenada citizenship, and their children can too. You're essentially able to future-proof your whole future generations of family, giving them the same opportunity.
Linda van Tilburg (07:21.076) At the moment, with all the movements around the US, the Trump gold card has been making headlines. Can you clarify—is this a real opportunity for South Africans?
Sarah Young (07:34.306) At the moment, is it a real opportunity? Well, the Trump administration has indicated that they're pushing this out and it's going to be available soon. In all reality, it is not yet available. When you look at the price tag attached to the Trump gold card—$5 million—there's no clarity yet on whether that is a non-refundable donation to the US authorities or a real type of investment. For the bulk of South Africans, when you convert $5 million into rand, it's an exorbitant sum. If that does not include any type of investment, then I think it's questionable as to whether it could be a real solution.
However, the US still has the open and available EB-5 investor programme. That is an available option allowing people with wealth to invest $800,000, which is a lot smaller than $5 million, into a qualifying investment option to pursue green card status and permanent residency in the US. Since the Trump card was touted, we've definitely seen more uptake in inquiries for the US EB-5 visa. I think that's people exploring what that could look like.
Just to note, though, the Trump gold card and the EB-5 would require investors to physically relocate to the US. These are immigration pathways into the US. They're not necessarily plan Bs to run along in the background.
Linda van Tilburg (09:08.948) Does Sable get any inquiries about the offer to Afrikaners from Trump?
Sarah Young (09:14.208) Again, we haven't specifically seen it. It's an interesting thing we've all been following—the US changes. The thing which may be concerning is that this could be an interesting route for people fitting the criteria. But it essentially would be an asylum-based visa category, and those types of visas can be revoked at short notice and changed.
If you want something that's going to give you permanence, then the EB-5 investor visa gives you certainty. If you're going to wait for an asylum-based refugee visa, then you may be waiting a long time because we don't know when it would be implemented, and we also don't know what the longevity of that visa class would be for people pursuing it.
Linda van Tilburg (10:05.641) Are you offering any workshops where people can get this information from you?
Sarah Young (10:15.062) Yes, we've actually got a couple of things coming up. We've got our US EB-5 Regional Centre partners coming to South Africa from the 19th to the 30th of April. If you'd be interested in meeting with them, it's a unique opportunity to understand what type of investment you can make to qualify you and your family to pursue the EB-5. We will also be hosting an event in the Gulf in early May with the South African tax team at Sable.