IN THIS GUIDE · Broad E-2 investor orientation across nationality, ownership, direction, capital and operating readiness
Confirm treaty nationality before anything else
E-2 eligibility rests on citizenship, not on where a person lives. Canada is a treaty country, so a Canadian citizen living in Montréal and a Canadian citizen living abroad are assessed the same way on this point. Canadian citizens generally need an E visa, unlike some other categories. Dual nationality, naturalization dates and the citizenship of every owner all matter, so gather that information early. Collect proof of citizenship for every owner at the same time and in the same format, and note the date each document was issued. Where an owner naturalised, that date matters, because ownership is tested by nationality at the relevant time. A person holding two citizenships should say so at the outset rather than when a question arises: disclosing it early is neutral, and discovering it late looks like an omission.
Trace ownership and plan real direction
At least 50 percent of the enterprise must be owned by nationals of the treaty country, so map the cap table, holding companies and any co-investors before assuming the structure works. The applicant must also genuinely develop and direct the business. Describe the decisions the investor will actually make — hiring, pricing, contracts, spending — rather than relying on a title in a draft document that no one has signed. Draw the ownership table as it will look after closing rather than as it looks today, and mark every line that depends on a document still to be signed. Then list the decisions the investor would make in the first six months, naming the person who would otherwise make each one. Develop and direct is assessed from that kind of detail, and a management agreement handing operations to somebody else is the arrangement most likely to raise the question.
Commit capital that is substantial and traceable
There is no universal minimum dollar figure. Capital is measured against the cost of the particular enterprise, and it must be genuinely committed and irrevocably at risk rather than parked in an account. Show lawful original source and the full path of funds; a balance statement alone is not enough. Loans are not automatically disqualifying, but collateral matters, and escrow or refundable-deposit terms need fact-specific review. Keep three columns for money: spent, irrevocably committed, and merely available. Only the first two speak to an investment at risk, and the third is often where the largest number sits. For each entry in the first two columns, name the document that proves it and the account it moved through. Where funds sit in escrow, read the release conditions, because an arrangement the investor can unwind at will has not placed the money at risk.
Show an operating plan beyond marginal income
The enterprise must be real, active and commercial, not a speculative holding of property or funds. A pre-launch business can qualify where commitments such as leases, equipment, licences or signed contracts are credible; first sales are not universally required. Non-marginality can rest on present or future capacity to generate more than a minimal living for the family, or on significant economic contribution. No fixed job count applies. Describe an ordinary week in the business once it is running: who serves customers, who invoices, who opens the premises. A plan that cannot describe that week has not yet been tested against reality. Non-marginality is assessed on the enterprise's present or future capacity to generate more than a minimal living, or on a significant economic contribution, so set out the basis on which that capacity is claimed rather than leaving it implicit in a revenue forecast.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.