IN THIS GUIDE · Assess an enterprise being restarted using its real present resources
Start with the E-2 eligibility and application overview
Identify what the investor will actually own and direct
Relevant treaty nationals must own at least 50% of the enterprise. The applicant must develop and direct through at least 50% ownership or other qualifying operational control. A purchase of assets, name or goodwill should be explained according to the genuine transaction rather than assumed to grant every operating right.
Show the capital genuinely committed to the restart
Lawful capital must be substantial in relation to the actual business and committed at risk; no universal minimum applies. Trace the source and path and identify actual payments. Properly structured visa-contingent escrow may qualify. A former owner’s expenditure does not automatically establish this investor’s current commitment.
Read financing and nonmarginality using current facts
Personal unsecured borrowing or debt secured solely by non-enterprise personal assets may count; enterprise-secured borrowing is excluded even with personal collateral. The enterprise must be real and nonmarginal, supporting more than minimal living for the investor and family or a significant economic contribution. Future capacity should generally be realizable within five years of normal business activity. Historical sales cannot be presented as current performance.
Coordinate the restart with actual permission
Describe genuine resources, proposed operating activity and the investor’s directing role. Intent to depart when E status ends remains required; Canadians generally need an E visa. A reopening announcement or transfer of keys is not immigration authorization or a guarantee of approval.
Measure substantiality against this business, not a fixed number
Substantiality is judged in proportion to the cost of acquiring or establishing this particular enterprise, not against a fixed number, so the purchase price and asset base matter more than any general figure. Beyond the enterprise, the employee must hold the same treaty-country nationality as the qualifying owners, and must be coming either to fill an executive or supervisory position or to provide services requiring special qualifications essential to the enterprise's operations. Pre-launch cases can succeed on credible commitments: signed lease, executed supply agreement, equipment ordered, licences applied for, and a hiring plan showing how the investor will develop and direct the enterprise. 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. If the seller releases the security interest over company assets in exchange for a larger down payment, the qualifying portion rises; if a side letter later restores that collateral, it falls again. Treaty nationality comes from citizenship, not Canadian residence, and at least fifty percent of the enterprise must be treaty-owned. The recognised middle path is an escrow holding the purchase price with release to the seller conditioned on issuance of the E-2 visa, so the money is unconditionally committed for immigration purposes yet returns to the buyer if the visa is refused. The investment must be irrevocably committed, at risk, and placed in an enterprise that is not marginal; a refundable arrangement may require more explanation than a payment exposed to the business's success or failure.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-08. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.