The requirements are the same as they are for every other treaty country, but there are a few things to keep in mind when applying for an E2 visa in Canada.
We’ve helped many Canadians through the E2 visa process, and we’d love to help you too.
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Rupert Law. Angie Rupert is located in Los Angeles County.
Updated September 2026
Canada is an E2 visa country, so Canadian citizens qualify for the E2 treaty investor visa. The E2 lets you come to the United States to direct and develop a business you have invested in. This guide explains who qualifies, how much you need to invest, how to apply from Canada, how long it takes, and how renewal works. The valid treaty between the United States and Canada went into effect on January 1, 1994.
Key takeaways
You may be interested in the E2 for the better weather (many Canadian E2 visa hopefuls search for businesses in California, Arizona, Texas and Florida). Or, you could be looking to expand your market. Generally speaking, the United States market is 4 times larger than the Canadian market. Others may be coming to the U.S. to be near friends and family. No matter what the reason, the E2 visa is a great option for Canadians.
There are many attorneys and immigration and business consultants who handle Canadian E2 visa applications. In fact, it may be tempting to hire someone who is geographically close to you. However, please note that the E2 visa is not a Canadian process. It is a United States process handled in Canada. Therefore, the appropriate E2 visa legal advice is based on United States law and regulations. You should hire someone who has passed a bar examination in the United States in order to assure that you have the best United States legal advice.
In other words, don’t let the location of the interview mislead you to believe that Canada law or regulation has anything to do with the E2 visa. The E2 visa requirements and adjudication are based solely on United States regulations. An experienced United States E2 lawyer is the best source of legal information when it comes to this visa.
We handle more Canadian clients than any other nationality. This table highlights only a few of our Canadian E2 visa approvals.
*This client could have received the interview sooner, but he chose to move the interview out due to personal reasons.
**This client changed status in the U.S. instead of going to the consulate in Toronto.
Contact Rupert Law
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Rupert Law. Angie Rupert is located in Los Angeles County.
Yes. Canada holds a qualifying treaty of commerce and navigation with the United States, which makes Canadian citizens eligible for the E-2 treaty investor visa.
In order to qualify, you must be a Canadian citizen, you must have invested or be actively in the process of investing a substantial amount of capital in a real US business, and you must be coming to the United States to develop and direct that business.
Permanent residents of Canada who are not citizens do not qualify on the basis of Canadian nationality alone.
Canadians apply for the E2 visa at the U.S. consulate in Toronto. All family members must attend the interview, even children. The E2 visa process for Canadians has three phases:
Phase one – gathering documents that we request in order to show that you and your business meet the E-2 visa requirements.
Phase two – Rupert Law assembles all documents, writes a cover letter, checks for inconsistencies, cuts pages.
Phase three – The application is sent to the consulate for their review and interview scheduling. The final piece to this phase is the interview at the U.S. consulate in Toronto.
Processing time for the E2 visa depends on the consular post’s current appointment availability and on whether you apply through a consulate or, if eligible, by change of status with USCIS.
Wait times vary by post and change often, so confirm the current timeframe for your post before you plan travel or a business start date.
Canada is one of the countries with no E-2 reciprocity (issuance) fee, so Canadian nationals currently pay no reciprocity fee when the E-2 visa is issued.
You still pay the standard E-visa application fee, which is $315 per applicant.
A separate $250 Visa Integrity Fee, created by 2025 legislation and effective October 1 2025, also applies to E visa issuance, though it is still being phased in across consular posts, so confirm whether your post is collecting it.
An E-2 visa issued to a Canadian national is currently valid for up to 60 months (five years) with multiple entries, and it allows travel in and out of the United States during that time.
The E-2 itself is renewable indefinitely and the E2 Visa renewal process is straightforward.
As long as the business continues to qualify and you continue to direct and develop it, there is no cap on the number of times you can renew.
There is no minimum investment amount dictated by law.
However, our recommendation is to invest at least $100,000 USD for a basic business or more for a more expensive or complicated business.
For start-ups that require more investment in order to get operational (generate revenue), an investor may need to invest more.
Typically, if a client is buying an existing business, we recommend investing the full purchase price up to $350,000 USD. If the business is more expensive than that, an applicant may be able to invest less than 100% of the purchase price.
The E-2 visa is a nonimmigrant visa and does not by itself lead to permanent residence, but it can be renewed indefinitely while the business qualifies.
Separate immigrant pathways would need to be pursued for a green card.