IN THIS GUIDE · Buying an operating fleet-service business, and the order the steps have to happen in
Start with the E-2 eligibility and application overview
Settle nationality and ownership before drafting anything
E-2 requires that the investor hold the nationality of a treaty country, and Canada qualifies through citizenship rather than permanent residence. It also requires that the enterprise itself carry that nationality, ordinarily through at least fifty percent ownership by treaty nationals. If Bruno intends to take a partner, whether the partner is a Canadian citizen, a United States person or a national of a third country changes the arithmetic and can extinguish the route entirely. Decide the cap table first, because a purchase agreement drafted around the wrong ownership split is expensive to unwind. Confirm treaty nationality before capital is committed, because an ownership change can alter the enterprise analysis. Keep citizenship and ownership evidence current through the application date.
Structure the purchase so the funds are committed but not lost
The investment must be irrevocably committed and at risk. A refundable deposit is not committed. A completed purchase before any decision puts the whole price at risk of an outcome nobody controls. The recognised middle path is an escrow holding the purchase price with release to the seller conditioned on issuance of the E-2 visa, so the money is unconditionally committed for immigration purposes yet returns to the buyer if the visa is refused. The escrow's conditions matter: a buyer who can walk away for other reasons has not committed. This is a drafting point the seller's lawyer will not think about, so it has to be raised early. Use a written contingency that explains what happens if the visa is refused. It should show a genuine commercial commitment without disguising funds as freely withdrawable.
Trace the money before it moves, not after
The source and path of funds have to be documented. Bruno's capital will come from personal savings, a business he sold and a personally secured line of credit. Each stream needs its own account of lawful origin and an unbroken trail of statements from that origin to the escrow. Borrowing personally, on his own credit or secured against his own assets, can count as his capital. Borrowing secured against the assets of the business being purchased does not, because that is the enterprise financing itself. Cash withdrawn and redeposited breaks a trail that is otherwise clean. Prepare the funds trail in transfer order, with source documents immediately behind each bank movement. An unexplained gap is easier to cure before the money reaches the transaction account.
Prove the business is real, substantial and not marginal
The enterprise must be real and operating rather than idle or speculative, the investment must be substantial in proportion to the cost of acquiring the business, and the business must generate more than a living for the investor and family. For an established purchase, the price paid is normally the cost of acquisition, so a fully funded purchase satisfies proportionality. Marginality is answered by the existing operation: payroll for six employees, contracts with fleets, revenue history and a plan showing continued or increased hiring. And Bruno must develop and direct the business himself; an absentee owner with a hired manager and no operational control does not meet the test. Choose revenue and staffing assumptions that the records can support. The decision is whether the business has a realistic path beyond support for the investor’s household.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.