E-2 Visa Treaty Countries List (2026): Who Is Eligible and Who Is Not

About 80 countries have an E-2 treaty with the United States, including Japan, South Korea, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Mexico, Turkey and, since March 15, 2024, Portugal. Eligibility depends on your citizenship, not where you live, and several large economies, including India, mainland China, Brazil and Russia, have no E-2 treaty at all.

The full list, with the number of E-2 visas each nationality received in fiscal year 2024, is in the searchable table below this article. Here we explain how the treaty rule works, the special cases that trip people up, and what to do if your country is not on the list.

How the E-2 treaty rule works

The E-2 visa is only available to nationals of countries with which the United States maintains a qualifying treaty. Under 9 FAM 402.9-4(A), that can be a treaty of friendship, commerce and navigation, a bilateral investment treaty, or legislation that extends the same privilege. The State Department keeps the authoritative list in 9 FAM 402.9-10.

Nationality matters twice in an E-2 case:

1. The investor must be a national of the treaty country.
2. The business must be at least 50% owned by nationals of that same country. The nationality of a company is determined by the nationality of its owners, not by where it is incorporated, so a Texas LLC owned by French citizens is a French business for E-2 purposes.

Shares held by U.S. green card holders do not count toward that 50%, even if the holder is also a citizen of the treaty country. For the details of partnerships and corporate owners, see E-2 ownership rules.

Nationality versus residence

The treaty test is about citizenship. Living in a treaty country, even with permanent residence, does not make you eligible. A citizen of India who has lived in the United Kingdom for twenty years cannot apply as a British E-2 investor unless they have become a British citizen.

The reverse is also true: you do not need to live in your treaty country. A Canadian citizen living in Dubai is still a Canadian national for E-2 purposes. Since September 6, 2025, however, nonimmigrant visa applicants generally must apply at a U.S. embassy in their country of nationality or legal residence, which affects where you interview.

Dual nationals

If you hold two citizenships, you choose which treaty nationality to use for the E-2 case. The FAM then requires consistency: the business may have only one qualifying nationality, and the owners and all E-2 employees of that company must hold themselves out as nationals of that one country for E-2 purposes.

There is one exception. A business owned and controlled 50/50 by nationals of two different treaty countries can support E-2 visas for owners and employees of either nationality.

Citizenship by investment: the three-year domicile rule

Some treaty countries, including Grenada and Turkey, grant citizenship in exchange for an investment. For years these programs were a common route into the E-2 for nationals of non-treaty countries.

Since December 23, 2022, the AMIGOS Act (part of Public Law 117-263) limits that route. If you acquired treaty nationality through a financial investment and were not previously in E status, you must have been domiciled in that country for at least three continuous years at some point before applying for the E-2. Holding the passport for three years is not enough; you must have actually lived there.

This rule applies to the nationality, not to a specific program, so it covers any treaty country that sells citizenship. We explain the practical side in E-2 through Grenada citizenship and in options for non-treaty nationals.

Recent additions to the E-2 list

Country	E-2 available since	Basis
Israel	May 1, 2019	Reciprocal arrangement under U.S. legislation
New Zealand	June 10, 2019	Reciprocal arrangement under U.S. legislation
Portugal	March 15, 2024	Reciprocal arrangement under U.S. legislation

All three received E-2 status through legislation that extended treaty investor privileges once the other country offered reciprocal treatment to U.S. investors. In FY2024, Israeli nationals received 657 E-2 visas and New Zealanders 141. Portugal had 28 in FY2024, a low figure because eligibility opened midway through that fiscal year. See our guides for Israeli citizens and Portuguese citizens.

Special cases: E-1 only, terminated and limited treaties

Not every treaty provides both visas.

Country	Status	What it means
Brunei	E-1 only	Treaty trader visas are available, investor visas are not
Greece	E-1 only	Treaty trader visas are available, investor visas are not
Bolivia	E-2 terminated	Only covered pre-June 10, 2012 investments; the privilege ended June 10, 2022
Ecuador	E-2 limited	Only investments made before May 18, 2018, and only until May 18, 2028
Taiwan	E-2 available	Eligible under the Taiwan Relations Act

Greek nationals with a trade-based business may still use the E-1 route; see E-1 vs E-2. Ecuadorian investors starting a new business today do not qualify for the E-2 on their Ecuadorian nationality.

Notable countries without an E-2 treaty

Many large source countries of U.S. immigrants have no E-2 treaty. Citizens of these countries cannot be E-2 investors on that passport:

• India
• Mainland China and Hong Kong
• Brazil
• Russia and Belarus
• Vietnam
• Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya
• South Africa
• Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates
• Indonesia and Malaysia
• Peru
• Uzbekistan

You may notice small E-2 issuance numbers for some of these nationalities in the State Department data, for example 136 for mainland China and 141 for Brazil in FY2024. These are family members: the spouse and children of an E-2 investor receive E-2 derivative visas regardless of their own nationality. A non-treaty national married to a treaty-country investor can therefore live and work in the U.S. as an E-2 spouse.

Options for citizens of these countries are covered in E-2 options for non-treaty countries, with country notes for India, China and Russia.

Visa validity varies by nationality

Being on the treaty list gets you access to the E-2; the reciprocity schedule decides how long the visa stamp is valid and whether you pay a reciprocity fee. These terms mirror how each country treats U.S. investors and range from three months to five years, with one or multiple entries.

Visa validity is different from your period of stay. Each entry on an E-2 visa gives an admission of up to two years, even if the visa expires the following week. A short validity period means more frequent consular renewals if you travel, not a shorter stay. Check your country’s current entry on the State Department’s reciprocity pages before planning travel, and see E-2 visa renewal for how renewals work.

Which nationalities use the E-2 most?

The State Department issued 55,324 E-2 visas in FY2024. Japan led with 15,521, followed by South Korea (6,778), Canada (6,747), Germany (3,902) and France (3,574). By region, Asia accounted for 27,159 and Europe for 17,272. These totals include investors, E-2 employees and family members, so countries with many large companies operating in the U.S. rank high.

Country guides with local details are available for Japan, South Korea, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico and Turkey.

Next steps

If your country is on the list, nationality is the easiest requirement to prove. The harder part is choosing a business that an officer will accept as substantial and not marginal. Check the remaining criteria with the E-2 eligibility checker, or book a consultation to discuss business options for your budget.