IN THIS GUIDE · Examine the rights a proposed co-investor would actually hold
Start with the E-2 eligibility and application overview
Read the powers retained by other parties
Hypothetical example: a Chestermere investor would acquire shares while a seller keeps approval rights over budgets and management. Identify the operative clauses and ask how they affect direction of the enterprise. A percentage diagram cannot explain every decision right, and a commercially acceptable arrangement does not automatically meet the investor requirements. Separate the treaty-nationality test from the seller’s veto: at least 50% of the enterprise must have the relevant treaty nationality. The investor must develop and direct the business through at least 50% ownership or other qualifying operational control.
Separate each contribution and its conditions
Identify who contributes capital, the lawful source and path of the applicant’s funds, and any repayment or security terms. An unsecured personal loan or borrowing secured by the investor’s own non-enterprise assets may count; debt secured by enterprise assets does not, including debt with both personal and enterprise collateral. Keep another owner’s contribution separate rather than assuming every dollar in the business is the applicant’s qualifying investment.
Explain the business cost and commitment
Show what is being purchased or established and the cost basis supporting the substantiality assessment. Read release, refund and escrow provisions before transferring funds. Qualifying investment-in-process arrangements require their own analysis; neither an account balance nor the word escrow supplies the complete commitment evidence.
Describe operations after the ownership change
Explain who will deliver services, hire staff and make operating decisions after the transaction. Support the financial expectations used to address non-marginality and distinguish them from historical results under the seller. The enterprise should be assessed as it is actually proposed, rather than assuming its earlier performance will continue unchanged. Test whether the post-purchase enterprise can provide more than a minimal living for the investor and family or make a significant economic contribution. Future capacity should generally be realizable within five years. Qualifying funds must be at risk and committed, and the applicant needs intent to depart at the end of E status. Canadian citizens generally need an E visa.
Irrevocable commitment means the money is beyond recall
The evidence has to show money committed beyond recall and exposed to loss, which means an unconditional agreement, released deposits, equipment paid for and a lease carrying real liability. The clauses that matter here are different: who decides pricing, what the franchisor can require, whether the franchisee may choose suppliers or hire freely, what approvals are needed to sell, and on what grounds the agreement can be terminated. Maintenance contracts that can be cancelled on notice when the company changes hands are worth less than the seller's revenue summary suggests, and the projections that support the enterprise being more than marginal depend on them. Review the purchase contract, lease, equipment order, and escrow terms together: a visa-contingent escrow can have different consequences from a deposit refundable whenever the buyer chooses. Identify customers, premises, licences, staffing, inventory or equipment, projected revenue, and the applicant’s role in developing and directing the enterprise. For E-2, the funds must be committed irrevocably and exposed to commercial risk; an amount that remains freely recoverable normally does not perform the same function.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.