Start with the E-2 eligibility and application overview
Read the financing before adding the total
E-2 has no fixed minimum investment. Capital must be substantial in context, lawfully sourced and traced, and genuinely committed at risk. Debt secured by the enterprise’s assets differs from qualifying personal financing. An equipment invoice does not establish that its entire face value qualifies as the investor’s contribution; examine the real terms and avoid counting the same value twice. Assess proportionality against the enterprise’s actual cost rather than a generic industry figure. Signed purchase documents, lease terms, payroll assumptions and opening invoices establish the denominator; bank confirmations and irrevocable payment obligations show what is exposed to loss. The investment must be irrevocably committed, placed at risk, and substantial in the circumstances. A refundable deposit, unaccepted lease, or promised future wire may reveal that the enterprise has not yet been funded in the way the application asserts.
Keep the enterprise conditions visible
The applicant needs qualifying treaty nationality and must develop and direct the enterprise, whose relevant treaty-national ownership must be at least 50%. The investor ordinarily establishes develop-and-direct authority through at least 50% ownership or operational control. The business must be real and nonmarginal: more than a minimal living for the investor and family, or the applicable significant economic contribution test. Canadians generally need an E visa. A financing structure does not waive ownership or operating requirements, and working capital or visa-contingent escrow requires review of actual commitment terms. E-2 status does not itself provide a direct path to permanent residence. The operating review should test who will direct the business after arrival and how it will move beyond supporting only the investor’s household. Forecasts are useful only when tied to contracts, capacity, pricing and a realistic hiring schedule. The enterprise may not be marginal, so a plan based on the owner doing every revenue-producing task indefinitely deserves particular scrutiny. Resolve ownership documents, escrow conditions and control rights before filing; an attractive business plan cannot repair a treaty-nationality or commitment defect later.
Trace nationality through every layer of ownership
A treaty enterprise must be at least fifty per cent owned by nationals of the treaty country, and Canada is a treaty country for this purpose. The investor and the ownership must be Canadian to the extent of the treaty requirement, which 60% Canadian ownership satisfies since the enterprise is treated as having the nationality of its majority owners. Unsecured personal card debt for which the investor remains personally liable is analysed differently from borrowing secured by the assets of the United States enterprise itself. Keep director or shareholder resolutions from the Canadian seller authorizing the disposal, resolutions of the U.S. buyer approving the purchase and the price, the asset purchase agreement, bills of sale, and assignments for contracts, licences or intellectual property. Personally held equipment, assets sitting on a Canadian company's books, and financed machines with a lender's security interest raise different questions. Where obligations conflict — a franchise territory clause against a landlord exclusivity clause — legal counsel should resolve them before filing. Trace each transfer from the investor to the enterprise, noting any escrow release, seller financing, or refund right that changes the risk analysis.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.