IN THIS GUIDE · Read actual control rights rather than relying on an ownership label
Start with the E-2 eligibility and application overview
Identify the authority actually granted
Hypothetical example: an applicant holds a negotiated ownership interest and specified management powers. Explain the genuine right to develop and direct the enterprise. Do not assume the title partner or director settles every control question.
Keep enterprise nationality distinct
The principal requires qualifying treaty nationality and the enterprise generally at least 50% relevant treaty-national ownership. Identify actual owners and nationalities. A Canadian company registration does not automatically provide the required nationality account.
Show lawful committed capital
Capital must be substantial, at risk and sufficiently committed, with lawful source and path. There is no universal E-2 minimum. Review enterprise-secured debt separately from potentially qualifying personal-security or unsecured arrangements; the actual terms matter. Personally unsecured borrowing or borrowing secured solely by non-enterprise personal assets may count under its actual terms. Debt secured by enterprise assets is excluded even when personal assets also secure it.
Assess the actual operation
A real nonmarginal enterprise needs capacity beyond minimal living for the investor and family or a significant economic contribution. Explain actual costs and activities. Properly structured visa-contingent escrow may be relevant, but a planned authority agreement does not itself establish investment.
Explain enterprise nationality and nonmarginality precisely
Enterprise nationality generally requires at least 50% ownership by nationals of the relevant treaty country. The investor must develop and direct the business through at least 50% ownership or other qualifying operational control. If nonmarginality rests on future capacity, that capacity generally must be realizable within five years after normal business activity begins. The investor must intend to depart when E status ends; Canadian citizens generally need an E visa.
Seller financing secured on the business is not investment
Money sitting in an escrow the buyer may cancel at will has not been committed. The commitment is shown by money paid to the seller, equipment purchased, a lease signed with personal liability, or funds held under conditions that release them on the sole condition of visa issuance. Present the contracts, the payroll history and a projection that shows capacity to hire or generate income beyond a minimal living for the investor. The test compares the amount invested with the total cost of purchasing or establishing the enterprise; for an operating nursery with land, greenhouses, stock and equipment, the investor is expected to have put in a high proportion of the price. Substantiality is judged in proportion to the total cost of purchasing an established business of this kind, not against any fixed figure, and no universal minimum exists. Personally secured or unsecured loans may require a different assessment, including lawful source and path; seller financing is not a label that resolves those questions. Funds must also be irrevocably committed and genuinely at risk, and substantial relative to the total cost of the undertaking. The enterprise cannot be marginal, and qualifying control must place its development and direction with the investor rather than leave a passive or nominal interest.
Marginality and control turn on the operating facts
The enterprise has to satisfy the non-marginality requirement, so describe its operating activity, resources, and realistically supported financial expectations rather than pointing to unexplained growth projections. Developing and directing the enterprise ordinarily means holding at least fifty per cent or otherwise possessing operational control, and a passive minority stake will not support the classification. Identify customers, premises, licences, staffing, inventory or equipment, projected revenue, and the applicant’s role in developing and directing the enterprise.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.