If Countries Can Sell Citizenship, Why Can’t We?

By Sanjay B Dalal

Founder, Innovator & Advocate for Digital and Economic Inclusion

What if you could auction your U.S. citizenship to the highest bidder?

One passport. One identity. One legal status—sold to someone across the globe while you walk away stateless but $5 million richer.

Absurd? Maybe. But not more absurd than the world we’re already building.

The Real Paradox

The newly proposed Trump Gold Card—a $5 million fast-track to U.S. residency—quietly reframes a powerful question:

If a government can sell residency to billionaires, why can’t a citizen sell their own citizenship?

Is citizenship a right, a duty… or a commodity?

Let’s Be Honest

For most immigrants, citizenship is earned slowly—through years of waiting, working, proving. But for the ultra-wealthy, it can now be purchased—without job creation, without taxes on global income, and possibly, without even staying.

The Trump Card is just one step further down a road many countries already travel—“citizenship by investment” schemes in Malta, Cyprus, Portugal, UAE, and others.

We package it with economic justifications, but it is what it is: citizenship for sale.

So Why Can’t I Sell Mine?

This is where the tension lies.

If I, as an American citizen, wanted to give up my passport and sell it to a qualified buyer, the state says no. I can renounce it—but I can't transfer it. It's not mine to sell, they say.

But isn’t that exactly what governments are doing? Why is it legitimate when the state profits from citizenship, but illegal when an individual imagines the same?

The Bigger Conversation

In the age of decentralized identity, digital nation-states, and cross-border economies, we are long overdue for a global conversation about:

• 🌐 What citizenship really means
• 🧾 Who deserves it
• 💸 And who gets to monetize it

Because whether we like it or not, the market has arrived. And it’s not bidding on values—it’s bidding on value.

This Isn’t Just About Passports

This is about Equity. Justice. Voice.

• Refugees can’t buy a better life.
• Students wait years in line.
• Digital entrepreneurs remain locked out.

Yet someone with $5 million might soon breeze in on a gold card, bypassing the very ideals that citizenship was supposed to represent.

So I Ask Again:

If countries can sell citizenship, why can’t we?

Let’s not shy away from this question—let’s confront it. Challenge it. Debate it.

Because the future of global belonging may depend on who gets to ask... and who gets to answer.

👤 About the Author

Sanjay B Dalal is a tech entrepreneur, startup advisor, and founder of oGoing. He writes on the intersections of innovation, ethics, AI, and global equity. Connect with him on LinkedIn or explore more at ogoing.com/sanjaydalal.

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