E-2 Treaty Countries: Current Country List and Special Rules

The following table is based on the current U.S. Department of State treaty-country list reviewed on September 12, 2026. It is intended as a research guide, not a substitute for checking the State Department table at the time an application is prepared.

The effective date is the date currently shown by the State Department for E-2 treatment. A treaty entry can also contain a footnote that changes how the apparent country listing should be applied.

The official State Department table should always control if the government later changes an entry, effective date, territorial rule, or treaty limitation.

E-2 eligibility is based on nationality. A principal applicant generally must be a national of the qualifying treaty country. Permanent residence, domicile, tax residence, a work permit, or years of residence in an E-2 country do not substitute for qualifying nationality.

The investor normally establishes nationality through a passport. More complicated cases can require citizenship certificates, naturalization records, evidence concerning dual nationality, or other records showing that the claimed nationality was actually possessed when the E-2 benefit is sought.

The nationality of derivative spouses and children is treated differently. A qualifying spouse or child does not generally have to possess the same nationality as the principal E applicant.

Read the complete E-2 treaty nationality guide

An investor's qualifying passport is only part of the nationality analysis. The E-2 enterprise itself must also possess the treaty nationality relied upon in the application.

Business nationality is generally determined through ownership rather than the place where the company was formed. A Florida LLC or Delaware corporation does not become American for E-2 nationality purposes merely because it was organized under U.S. law.

The Department of State generally requires at least 50 percent qualifying ownership by nationals of the treaty country. When another company owns the U.S. enterprise, the ownership chain may need to be traced through parent and holding companies to the ultimate individual owners.

Read the E-2 business nationality and ownership guide

Bolivia

The State Department currently states that ordinary new E-2 eligibility is not available to Bolivian nationals. The remaining principal E-2 eligibility is tied to activity in furtherance of covered investments established or acquired before June 10, 2012.

Ecuador

The Ecuador treaty terminated, but the current State Department table preserves limited E-2 treatment for qualifying investments in place before May 18, 2018. The State Department states that this grandfathering continues until May 18, 2028.

United Kingdom

The UK treaty has an additional territorial and inhabitancy rule. The State Department states that the convention applies to British territory in Europe, including the British Isles except the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Gibraltar. A qualifying applicant must be a UK national and must also satisfy the treaty's inhabitancy requirement.

Former Yugoslav successor states

The State Department treats Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Kosovo as successors that continue to be bound by the applicable treaty framework.

Recent statutory E-2 countries

Israel, New Zealand, and Portugal became eligible for E-2 treatment through legislation conditioned on reciprocal treatment rather than through the same traditional treaty structure used by many older E countries.

A person with two nationalities may potentially rely on a qualifying E-2 nationality. But the selected nationality must be coordinated with the nationality of the enterprise and, where relevant, with E employees.

The Foreign Affairs Manual generally requires dual national owners to choose the nationality used for E purposes involving the enterprise. An owner should not assume that several available passports allow the company to shift freely among different treaty nationalities for different applicants.

A special rule can apply to a business owned and controlled equally by nationals of two treaty countries. That situation should be analyzed separately from a company divided among several owners and nationalities.

The State Department table contains E-1 treaty trader classifications, E-2 treaty investor classifications, and in Australia's case E-3 specialty occupation treatment. These categories should not be treated as interchangeable.

For example, the current table lists Greece for E-1 but not E-2. The existence of treaty trader eligibility therefore does not automatically establish treaty investor eligibility.

The safest method is to locate the applicant's country in the current Department of State table and confirm that an E-2 entry actually appears, then read every applicable footnote.

Once the country qualifies, the record must connect the treaty to the actual investor and enterprise.

Nationality should be analyzed before substantial capital is committed. An otherwise strong business investment cannot cure the absence of a qualifying treaty nationality.