IN THIS GUIDE · Know when the money from selling a Canadian shop becomes an E-2 investment in a business that does not exist yet
Start with the E-2 eligibility and application overview
The treaty-investor conditions
The investor must be a Canadian citizen and the enterprise must be at least 50% owned by Canadian nationals. The funds must be the investor's own, obtained lawfully, and irrevocably committed to the enterprise so that they are subject to loss if it fails. The investment must be substantial relative to the cost of establishing this business and sufficient to make it operational. The enterprise must be real and operating, or about to operate, and must not be marginal, meaning it should have present or future capacity to generate more than a minimal living for the family, typically shown through a hiring plan over five years. The investor must develop and direct the business through at least 50% ownership or operational control. E-2 spouses are employment-authorized incident to status. There is no direct path from E-2 to permanent residence.
What counts as committed for a startup
For a business being built from nothing, commitment is shown by money spent or bound: a signed commercial lease with the deposit paid, roasting and espresso equipment purchased or under binding contract, contractor deposits for the fit-out, a business bank account funded and used, and inventory ordered. A business plan and a wire of cash to a U.S. account the investor controls are preparatory, not committed. Applicants are permitted to make the investment conditional on visa issuance only where a structure such as escrow genuinely locks the funds, and an escrow requires a counterparty; a startup usually has none. Expect to spend real money before the application.
Substantial and not marginal
There is no fixed minimum. Substantiality is proportional: a business that costs a modest amount to establish should be funded close to fully by the investor's own capital. A roastery with a used roaster, a leased space and a café counter may be established for a sum that the proceeds of the Canadian store sale would cover comfortably, and the review will expect most of that to be invested rather than held back. Marginality is answered with a credible five-year projection showing staff beyond the two owners, supported by realistic wholesale and café revenue assumptions rather than an optimistic template.
Two owners, one principal
If the couple hold the enterprise jointly, one spouse applies as the treaty investor and the other enters as an E-2 spouse with employment authorization incident to status. Only the principal must develop and direct, so the ownership split between them does not have to be equal, but the enterprise as a whole must remain at least half Canadian-owned. Decide before the application which spouse's name goes on the lease and the equipment contracts as the person directing the business, and keep the other spouse's role, such as running the café floor, consistent with that. Both must keep the funds traceable from the sale of the Canadian store to the U.S. accounts.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.