IN THIS GUIDE · Settling nationality and a genuine business concept before any money is committed
Start with the E-2 eligibility and application overview
Check nationality before anything else
E-2 rests on holding the nationality of a treaty country. Permanent residence in Canada does not supply it, and neither does long residence anywhere else. Establish the applicant's actual citizenship, check it against the current treaty list, and note that Canadian citizens generally need an E visa rather than admission without one. Where a company will invest, its ownership must carry the same treaty nationality, so map the shareholders at the same time. Record which document was examined and on what date, since citizenship is the one fact in this analysis that people most often report inaccurately about themselves. A passport, a certificate of citizenship or a birth certificate answers it; a permanent resident card, a driving licence and long residence do not, whatever else they establish.
Describe a business you would actually run
The category expects a real, active, operating enterprise, not a holding of property or a passive placement. Write two paragraphs on what the business would sell, to whom, from where, and what the applicant would do each week. That draft exposes whether the interest is in a specific venture or only in the visa. It also gives an adviser something concrete to test against the substantiality and marginality requirements. Read the draft back and ask a plain question of it: does it describe a business, or does it describe a category. A concept that could be swapped for any other business without changing a sentence is describing the route rather than the venture, and that is worth discovering on a page rather than after a purchase agreement is signed.
Establish the funds before shopping for a business
Substantiality is judged in proportion to the enterprise, and no universal dollar minimum exists, so the honest starting point is what capital is genuinely available and lawfully sourced. Identify the accounts, the origin of the money and anything that would need borrowing. Where a loan is contemplated, financing secured by the business's own assets is viewed differently from personal security, and the specific proposal deserves counsel's review rather than a blanket assumption. Separate, in the same exercise, the capital intended for the enterprise from the money the household will live on, because the two are frequently one figure at this stage and they cannot both be it. Funds held back for living costs are not invested funds, and an investment sized on the assumption that they are will have to be revisited once the distinction is made explicit.
Treat the first review as a decision, not a filing
The useful output at this stage is a judgement about whether to proceed, and what would have to be true first. Ask the reviewer to name the weakest element and the evidence that would settle it. Nothing about the applicant's community or municipality alters the legal test. If some other cross-border route seems relevant, have it assessed on its own terms instead of assuming it substitutes for E-2 requirements. Ask also what the reviewer would need to see in order to change a negative view, since that turns an unwelcome answer into a list of tasks. Where the weakest element is capital, the task is documentary; where it is nationality, there may be no task at all, and knowing which of those applies is worth more than any general encouragement.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.