Start with the E-2 eligibility and application overview
Nationality is the first gate, and it is a citizenship question
E-2 is a treaty classification, so it begins with the nationality of the investor and of the enterprise. Canada is a treaty country, and a Canadian citizen therefore qualifies on nationality; permanent residence in Canada does not, because the treaty runs to citizens. The business must carry the same nationality: at least fifty per cent of it has to be owned by nationals of the treaty country, counted by ultimate ownership rather than by whose name appears on the operating agreement. For the Kavanaghs this is simple while they own the resort between them, and it becomes complicated the moment an American partner, an investor group or a family trust is introduced. If either of them holds a citizenship other than Canadian, the treaty list should be checked against that country before anything else is planned, because the answer changes the whole structure.
Capital the seller can take back has not been placed at risk
The investment must be irrevocably committed and genuinely at risk, meaning subject to partial or total loss if the business fails. The seller's offer is the difficulty. Borrowed funds can count when the loan is unsecured or secured by the investor's own personal assets, because the investor stands to lose either way. A loan secured by the assets of the business being purchased does not count, since the lender rather than the buyer bears that risk; if the resort fails, the seller takes the resort back and the buyer's exposure was never real. Half the purchase price financed that way is therefore half a purchase price that does not appear in the E-2 arithmetic. Funds still sitting in a Canadian account are not committed either. Where money is placed in escrow, the escrow must be irrevocable except for a condition tied to the visa itself.
Substantial is a proportion, and marginal is about who the business supports
There is no published minimum investment. Substantiality is measured proportionally: the amount committed against the total cost of buying an established enterprise or of establishing a viable new one, with a smaller absolute figure acceptable for an inherently inexpensive business and a larger one expected as costs rise. A resort with real property attached sits toward the expensive end, so the proportion has to be met on a real number. Non-marginality is a separate test and is the one seasonal businesses fail. The enterprise must not exist merely to provide a living for the investor and family; it must have the present or future capacity to generate more than minimal income, or make a significant economic contribution, and where the capacity is future it is normally expected within about five years. A resort employing a seasonal crew and generating meaningful revenue can meet this. One where Dermot and Saoirse simply do the work themselves probably cannot.
Develop and direct, and the thing E-2 never turns into
The investor must be coming to develop and direct the enterprise, which is ordinarily shown by owning at least half of it or by holding operational control through a management position or other device. Passive investment does not qualify, and neither does buying into a business someone else will run. A spouse admitted in E-2 status is employment-authorized incident to that status and may work anywhere, not only in the family business, which for a seasonal operation can matter a great deal to household income. The final point is the one most often misunderstood: E-2 is a nonimmigrant classification that can be extended for as long as the qualifying investment and the trading enterprise continue, but it carries no direct route to permanent residence. If permanent status is the actual objective, that has to be pursued through a separate immigrant route on its own merits, and the two should not be confused when a purchase is being structured.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.