Read the general investor planning overview
View Royal buyers should reconcile marketing material with effective purchase terms before relying on the listed assets in an E-2 operating plan.
Identify included resources
Read asset exclusions and actual use rights. A brochure cannot establish resources contradicted by the binding agreement; genuine replacements should be described at their real stage.
Establish investor rights and capital
At least 50% relevant treaty-country national enterprise ownership, development and direction, substantial at-risk funds and lawful source/path remain required. The asking price is not itself a qualifying investment calculation. E-2 status has no direct path to permanent residence.
Support the real enterprise
Nonmarginality includes more than minimal living or significant economic contribution under the applicable rules. There is no universal E-2 minimum or ten-job quota. Update changes that materially affect operations instead of retaining an unsupported earlier plan.
Hypothetical example: a childcare centre whose licence does not come with the sale
Hypothetical example: a View Royal investor agrees to buy a US childcare centre. The brochure says ‘licensed for sixty children, fully enrolled, established staff’. The purchase agreement, read closely, transfers furniture, equipment, the lease and goodwill; the operating licence is issued to the seller personally and cannot be assigned, enrolment contracts are month-to-month, and two of the eight staff are the seller’s relatives who will leave at closing. What goes wrong is an E-2 plan written from the brochure: sixty places of revenue from day one, a licence the buyer does not hold, and staffing that evaporates. The honest plan describes the licence application in the buyer’s name with its expected timeline, the enrolment contracts as they are, the staffing she must replace, and revenue that starts when the licence does. The investment itself is what the agreement says she paid, plus committed working capital, and it is at risk precisely because the licence is not guaranteed. The reviewer asks first for the agreement and its schedules, then for the licensing authority’s written position on transfer.
Which document decides what was bought
The asset purchase agreement with its schedules decides it: the list of included assets, the excluded items, the lease assignment and its landlord consent, and the allocation of price. A licensing letter stating whether a new operator must reapply, and on what conditions, decides whether the business can operate on closing. Enrolment contracts and staff employment agreements decide whether the revenue and the workforce survive the change of owner. The plan should cite each of these rather than the brochure, and the other conditions remain: at least half owned by Canadian nationals, developed and directed by the investor, funds irrevocably committed and lawfully sourced, and an enterprise that is real, operating and more than marginal.
Sequence the licence, the closing and the application
Ask the licensing authority about transfer before signing; make closing conditional on the licence being issued or provisionally granted; close; then apply with the licence, the closing statement and the enrolment and staff records as they stand. A Canadian generally needs the E-2 visa before admission, for up to two years each time. The spouse is employment-authorized incident to E-2 status, and E-2 offers no direct path to permanent residence.
What else is on your mind?
Is there one minimum investment that guarantees E-2 eligibility?Is holding money or owning an asset enough for E-2?Editorial source review: 2026-09-07. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.