Indonesia is the latest country to launch a golden visa programme and has kickstarted the scheme by granting the first residence permit to a surprising recipient: ChatGPT founder Sam Altman.
Golden visas are the colloquial name for residence-by-investment programmes which see governments issue stay permits to foreign individuals in exchange for setting up new companies, buying properties or investing in funds.
But the programme launched by south-east Asia’s biggest economy on August 30 takes a different spin, making its 10-year golden visas also available to ‘notable individuals’ nominated by the government.
This pathway is offered to “well-known figures with an international reputation [who] can benefit Indonesia”, said the country’s director general of immigration, Silmy Karim, in a September 4 statement. That same day, the government granted the first golden visa to…
