USA
E-2 treaty countries and the State Department list.
The United States E-2 treaty investor visa is open only to nationals of the countries on the State Department’s treaty list. That list names 81 E-2 treaty countries, and 79 of them take new investors today. If your passport is not from one of these E-2 visa countries, you cannot apply on it, however large the investment.
A treaty country is a country that holds a treaty of commerce and navigation or a bilateral investment treaty with the United States. A country also qualifies when Congress grants its nationals E status by law and that country gives Americans the same treatment. The count of 81 leaves out Yugoslavia, which the list still carries so that its seven successor states keep the treaty.
Each country below comes with the E-2 visa validity, number of entries and reciprocity fee its nationals receive. A handful carry conditions written into the treaty. The E-1 list differs from the E-2 list, and family members and passports from outside the list follow rules of their own.
E-2 treaty countries: the full list, with visa validity.
The E-2 visa countries below are every country whose nationals can hold an E-2 visa, as the State Department lists them. For each one the table gives the visa the State Department issues to that nationality, the reciprocity fee, the year the E-2 took effect, and whether the E-1 applies too. The countries and dates come from the official treaty country list.
Validity is how long the visa in your passport can be used to enter the United States, and the entries are how many times. The reciprocity fee is charged when the visa is issued, per person.
| Country | E-2 visa validity | Fee | E-2 since | E-1 too |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | 36 months, multiple entries | None | 1998 | No |
| Argentina | 60 months, multiple entries | None | 1854 | Yes |
| Armenia | 60 months, multiple entries | None | 1996 | No |
| Australia | 60 months, multiple entries | $5,592 | 1991 | Yes |
| Austria | 60 months, multiple entries | None | 1931 | Yes |
| Azerbaijan | 3 months, one entry | None | 2001 | No |
| Bahrain | 3 months, one entry | None | 2001 | No |
| Bangladesh | 3 months, two entries | None | 1989 | No |
| Belgium | 60 months, multiple entries | $310 | 1963 | Yes |
| Bolivia (closed to new investors) | 3 months, one entry | None | 2001 | Yes |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 12 months, multiple entries | None | 1982 | Yes |
| Bulgaria | 60 months, multiple entries | $52 | 1954 | No |
| Cameroon | 3 months, one entry | None | 1989 | No |
| Canada | 60 months, multiple entries | None | 1994 | Yes |
| Chile | 12 months, multiple entries | $155 | 2004 | Yes |
| China (Taiwan) | 60 months, multiple entries | None | 1948 | Yes |
| Colombia | 60 months, multiple entries | None | 1948 | Yes |
| Congo (Brazzaville) | 3 months, one entry | None | 1994 | No |
| Congo (Kinshasa) | 3 months, one entry | None | 1989 | No |
| Costa Rica | 60 months, multiple entries | $181 | 1852 | Yes |
| Croatia | 60 months, multiple entries | $285 | 1982 | Yes |
| Czech Republic | 60 months, multiple entries | None | 1993 | No |
| Denmark | 18 months, multiple entries | None | 2008 | Yes |
| Ecuador (investments made before May 18, 2018 only) | 3 months, two entries | None | 1997 | No |
| Egypt | 3 months, one entry | None | 1992 | No |
| Estonia | 60 months, multiple entries | None | 1997 | Yes |
| Ethiopia | 3 months, one entry | None | 1953 | Yes |
| Finland | 24 months, multiple entries | $182 | 1992 | Yes |
| France | 48 months, multiple entries | None | 1960 | Yes |
| Georgia | 12 months, multiple entries | None | 1997 | No |
| Germany | 60 months, multiple entries | None | 1956 | Yes |
| Grenada | 60 months, multiple entries | None | 1989 | No |
| Honduras | 60 months, multiple entries | $85 | 1928 | Yes |
| Ireland | 60 months, multiple entries | None | 1992 | Yes |
| Israel | 24 months, multiple entries | None | 2019 | Yes |
| Italy | 60 months, multiple entries | $198 | 1949 | Yes |
| Jamaica | 60 months, multiple entries | None | 1997 | No |
| Japan | 60 months, multiple entries | None | 1953 | Yes |
| Jordan | 3 months, one entry | None | 2001 | Yes |
| Kazakhstan | 12 months, multiple entries | None | 1994 | No |
| Kosovo | 12 months, multiple entries | None | 1882 | Yes |
| Kyrgyzstan | 3 months, one entry | None | 1994 | No |
| Latvia | 34 months, multiple entries | None | 1996 | Yes |
| Liberia | 12 months, multiple entries | None | 1939 | Yes |
| Lithuania | 12 months, multiple entries | None | 2001 | No |
| Luxembourg | 60 months, multiple entries | None | 1963 | Yes |
| Mexico | 12 months, multiple entries; or 48 months, multiple entries | None, or $186 for 48 months | 1994 | Yes |
| Moldova | 3 months, two entries | None | 1994 | No |
| Mongolia | 36 months, multiple entries | None | 1997 | No |
| Montenegro | 12 months, multiple entries | None | 1882 | Yes |
| Morocco | 60 months, multiple entries | None | 1991 | No |
| Netherlands | 36 months, multiple entries | $2,118 | 1957 | Yes |
| New Zealand | 60 months, multiple entries | None | 2019 | Yes |
| North Macedonia | 60 months, multiple entries | None | 1982 | Yes |
| Norway | 36 months, multiple entries | $290 | 1928 | Yes |
| Oman | 6 months, multiple entries | None | 1960 | Yes |
| Pakistan | 60 months, multiple entries | None | 1961 | Yes |
| Panama | 60 months, multiple entries | None | 1991 | No |
| Paraguay | 60 months, multiple entries | None | 1860 | Yes |
| Philippines | 60 months, multiple entries | $552 | 1955 | Yes |
| Poland | 12 months, multiple entries | None | 1994 | Yes |
| Portugal | 60 months, multiple entries | $79 | 2024 | Yes |
| Romania | 60 months, multiple entries | None | 1994 | No |
| Senegal | 12 months, multiple entries | None | 1990 | No |
| Serbia | 12 months, multiple entries | None | 1882 | Yes |
| Singapore | 24 months, multiple entries | None | 2004 | Yes |
| Slovak Republic | 24 months, multiple entries | None | 1993 | No |
| Slovenia | 60 months, multiple entries | $235 | 1982 | Yes |
| South Korea | 60 months, multiple entries | None | 1957 | Yes |
| Spain | 60 months, multiple entries | $124 | 1903 | Yes |
| Sri Lanka | 36 months, multiple entries | None | 1993 | No |
| Suriname | 60 months, multiple entries | None | 1963 | Yes |
| Sweden | 24 months, multiple entries | None | 1992 | Yes |
| Switzerland | 48 months, multiple entries | $125 | 1855 | Yes |
| Thailand | 6 months, multiple entries | None | 1968 | Yes |
| Togo | 3 months, one entry | $100 | 1967 | Yes |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 60 months, multiple entries | None | 1996 | No |
| Tunisia | 60 months, multiple entries | None | 1993 | No |
| Turkey | 60 months, multiple entries | None | 1990 | Yes |
| Ukraine | 27 months, multiple entries | None | 1996 | No |
| United Kingdom | 60 months, multiple entries | None | 1815 | Yes |
Validity, entries and fees change whenever the State Department revises a country’s schedule. Check the entry for your own nationality before you book an interview.
E-2 treaty countries with conditions attached.
Some countries on the list carry a condition, set either in the treaty or in the terms under which the treaty ended. The State Department records each one in the country notes to 9 FAM 402.9-10:
| Country | Condition |
|---|---|
| Bolivia | The country ended its investment treaty on June 10, 2012. The treaty kept covering investments made before that date for 10 years, until June 10, 2022. A consulate must ask the State Department for an advisory opinion before it issues a first E-2 visa to a Bolivian national. The E-1 is unaffected. |
| Ecuador | Ecuador ended its treaty on May 18, 2018. Only investments in place by that date qualify, and only until May 18, 2028. |
| United Kingdom | UK nationals only, and only for British territory in Europe: the British Isles outside Ireland, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar. |
| France | The treaty also covers Martinique, Guadeloupe, French Guiana and Réunion. |
| Netherlands | The treaty also covers Aruba and the former Netherlands Antilles. It was extended to Suriname in 1963, which is listed on its own. |
| Denmark | The 1961 treaty behind the E-1 does not apply to Greenland. |
| Norway | The treaty does not apply to Svalbard. |
| Japan | The treaty covers the Bonin Islands from 1968 and the Ryukyu Islands from 1972. |
| China (Taiwan) | The treaty is administered through the American Institute in Taiwan. Mainland China has no treaty. |
| Former Yugoslavia | Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia each inherit the 1882 treaty. |
The UK condition covers both nationality and residence. You must hold UK nationality, so a citizen of another Commonwealth country who lives in London does not qualify through it. The convention also covers “inhabitants” of British territory in Europe, a word the State Department reads as someone who actually and permanently resides there and has their domicile there. A UK national whose home has long been outside Europe should raise that point before filing.
New E-2 treaty countries, and the ones that leave.
A country reaches the list in one of two ways. The United States signs a treaty with it, or Congress passes a law that grants E status to its nationals once that country gives Americans the same treatment.
Most entries are treaties. The oldest is the 1815 convention with the United Kingdom. Bilateral investment treaties signed between 1989 and 2001 added countries such as Egypt, Grenada, Georgia and Ukraine. Trade agreements added Canada and Mexico in 1994 and Chile and Singapore in 2004.
The newest entries came by law. Congress extended E-2 status to Israel in 2012, and visas began on May 1, 2019, once the State Department confirmed that Israel offered Americans the same treatment. New Zealand followed the same path, from a 2018 law to visas on June 10, 2019, and Portugal from a 2022 law to visas on March 15, 2024.
Countries also leave the list. When a country ends its investment treaty, investors already in place keep E-2 access for 10 more years, and new investors lose it on the day the treaty ends.
E-1 treaty countries: where the two lists differ.
The E-1 treaty trader list is shorter than the E-2 list: 54 countries against 81, with 52 on both. The E-1 visa rests on trade that already flows between the United States and the treaty country, and its list comes from the older commerce treaties.
Greece and Brunei hold E-1 rights only. Twenty-nine countries hold E-2 rights only:
- Europe and the Caucasus: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, Romania, the Slovak Republic and Ukraine
- Africa: Cameroon, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Kinshasa), Egypt, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia
- Asia and the Middle East: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and Sri Lanka
- The Americas: Ecuador, Grenada, Jamaica, Panama, and Trinidad and Tobago
In some countries the two classes took effect decades apart. Turkey’s E-1 dates from 1933 and its E-2 from 1990, and Israel’s E-1 from 1954 and its E-2 from 2019. Nationals of both countries hold both rights today.
E-2 visa validity by country: the reciprocity schedule sets it.
How long an E-2 visa lasts, and how many times you can enter on it, depends on your nationality. The State Department sets both for each country in a reciprocity schedule that mirrors what that country gives Americans, and it sets the reciprocity fee on the same basis.
Of the 81 treaty nationalities, 38 receive a 60-month visa with multiple entries, and 28 receive 12 months or less. At the short end, 14 nationalities receive a three-month visa. Eleven of them, including Egypt, Jordan, Azerbaijan, Cameroon and Ethiopia, get a single entry; Bangladesh, Ecuador and Moldova get two.
A short visa affects how often you travel. Each entry on an E-2 visa admits you for up to two years, however long the visa itself has left. The E-2 visa process runs the admission period and the visa on separate clocks. With a three-month, single-entry visa you apply for a new visa before most trips abroad, and your time in the United States stays the same.
Fees follow the same schedule. Nationals of 64 treaty countries pay no reciprocity fee. The rest pay from $52 for Bulgaria to $2,118 for the Netherlands and $5,592 for Australia, per person, on top of the application fee in the E-2 visa cost breakdown.
E-2 visa for Indian nationals and other non-treaty citizens.
A passport from a country without a treaty cannot carry an E-2 application, however large the investment. India, mainland China, Brazil, Russia, Vietnam, Nigeria, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates are among the countries with no E-2 treaty.
A second nationality from a treaty country.
A second citizenship from a treaty country makes you eligible on that passport. Nationality gained by birth, descent, marriage or ordinary naturalization counts from the day you hold it, so an Indian national who naturalizes in Canada can apply as a Canadian. Nationality bought through an investment program counts only after three years of domicile in that country, one of the E-2 visa requirements since December 2022.
Residence is not nationality. A green card, permanent residence or a long-term visa in a treaty country does nothing for an E-2 application. Neither does a company registered there, because the business takes the nationality of the people who own it.
Marriage to a treaty national.
Marriage to a treaty investor gives the spouse E-2 dependent status only. The spouse of a treaty investor can hold E-2 status on any passport and can work in the United States, but cannot be the investor on that basis. The investor and the owners of the business must hold the treaty nationality themselves.
Other US visas for the same business plan.
An investor whose passport comes from a country without a treaty can still move a business to the United States on another visa. Neither the L-1A nor the EB-5 has a nationality list, so an Indian, Chinese, Brazilian or Nigerian national applies on the same terms as anyone else.
The L-1A visa fits an owner or manager who already runs a company abroad. That company must have employed you for at least one continuous year in the three years before the petition. It then transfers you as an executive or manager to a US office it owns or controls, and a brand-new US office qualifies for a first approval of one year.
The EB-5 investor green card is the route for an investor with more capital and no company abroad. You invest $1.05 million in a US business, or $800,000 in a targeted employment area, and the investment must create at least 10 full-time jobs for US workers. It leads to permanent residence, where the E-2 gives a stay that has to be renewed.
E-2 nationality rules for spouses, children and co-owners.
The treaty nationality binds the investor and the business. The spouse and unmarried children under 21 of an E-2 investor qualify for E-2 status whatever passport they hold, under 9 FAM 402.9-9.
Their visa terms depend on that passport. A family member who is a treaty national receives the validity and fee of their own country’s schedule, capped at the length of the principal’s visa or stay. A family member from a country without a treaty receives the visa in that passport, on the principal investor’s schedule.
A company, by contrast, can carry only one E-2 nationality, unless nationals of two treaty countries own and control it equally, 50 percent each. That company can bring in E-2 employees of either nationality; any other mix leaves it with one nationality, and its E-2 employees must share it.
Common questions
Yes. Pakistan holds both E-1 and E-2 rights under a treaty in force since February 12, 1961. Pakistani nationals receive a 60-month E-2 visa with multiple entries and pay no reciprocity fee, under Pakistan’s own schedule. The investment and business tests are the same as for any other treaty national.
Yes. Canadian citizens enter the United States without a visa in most classifications, but federal regulations require a visa for E status (22 CFR 41.2). A Canadian treaty investor applies at a US consulate, or changes status with USCIS from inside the country after a lawful admission.
No. The United Kingdom treaty covers UK nationals only, so a citizen of India, Nigeria or South Africa cannot use it even while living in Britain. Several Commonwealth countries, including Canada, Australia and Jamaica, hold E-2 treaties of their own.
No. Australia has held separate E-1 and E-2 treaty rights since 1991. The E-3 is a different visa, for Australian nationals coming to work in a specialty occupation that needs a degree, with its own annual limit of 10,500 visas. An Australian investor applies for the E-2.
No. The treaty list decides who can hold an E-2 visa; the Visa Waiver Program decides who can visit for up to 90 days without one. Many countries sit on both. A treaty national who arrives on ESTA cannot change to E-2 status inside the United States and applies at a consulate instead.
Yes. Turkey holds E-2 rights under a treaty in force since May 18, 1990, and E-1 rights since 1933. Turkish nationals receive a 60-month E-2 visa with multiple entries and pay no reciprocity fee. Because both classes apply, a Turkish company that trades with the United States can use either one.
Sources
- Treaty CountriesU.S. Department of State
- 9 FAM 402.9, Treaty Traders, Investors, and Specialty OccupationsU.S. Department of State, Foreign Affairs Manual
- U.S. Visa: Reciprocity and Civil Documents by CountryU.S. Department of State
- E-2 Treaty InvestorsU.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
- 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(E), treaty traders and investorsLegal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
- 22 CFR 41.2, exemption or waiver of visa requirementsLegal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
3–10 months
$10,000–$14,000
Guides
