Do not assume identical citizenship is a general dependent requirement. Assess the qualifying relationship and the spouse’s actual procedure and eligibility. This is separate from the treaty ownership required for the enterprise and any principal-investor claim the spouse might make.
Review work permission separately
Qualifying E spouses may be employment-authorized incident to status with the required evidence. A pending case or ownership stake does not grant that status. Children do not receive the spouse’s employment permission through dependent E classification.
Separate dependency from principal-investor eligibility. A qualifying spouse generally need not share the E-2 principal’s citizenship and may be employment-authorized incident to valid E status with the required evidence, but a pending application or business ownership does not provide permission. Dependent children cannot use the spouse’s employment entitlement. If the spouse wants a principal E-2 claim, independently test treaty nationality, ownership of 50 percent or more, or genuine operational control, and responsibility to develop and direct the enterprise. The venture must receive substantial, irrevocably committed capital at risk and be real and non-marginal. Citizenship and Canadian permanent residence must remain distinct throughout. The recurring error is using marriage to fill a missing nationality, ownership, or authorization fact.
Hypothetical example: A Sherbrooke artisan-bakery investor is a Canadian citizen; her accompanying husband is a Belgian citizen and physiotherapist. He may qualify as her dependent spouse without adopting her nationality, and suitable E-spouse status evidence may permit his employment. If he instead wants to be a co-principal or practise independently, the family must assess those facts separately before advertising services. Their teenager’s dependent E status would not carry work permission.