E-2 Visa Countries List 2026: All 79 Treaty Nationalities

Which countries qualify for the E-2 visa in 2026?

Nationals of 79 countries can use the E-2 Treaty Investor visa for a new investment in 2026. The authoritative list is the treaty table in the US State Department's Foreign Affairs Manual, 9 FAM 402.9-10, which consular officers apply when they assess an application; the State Department also publishes it on its treaty countries page on travel.state.gov. We read the current edition of that table, transmittal CT:VISA-2190 of 17 February 2026, on 12 and 13 October 2026, and every row below is taken from it.

The E-2 classification exists only because of bilateral treaties of commerce and navigation, or equivalent agreements, between the United States and each country. If no such treaty covers investors, no amount of capital can create E-2 eligibility for that nationality. This is why the list matters before anything else: before you think about business plans or investment amounts, you need to know whether your passport opens the door. Our E-2 Treaty Investor visa page covers the full requirements; this article is the reference for the country list itself.

The full E-2 treaty country list

The table lists every nationality that can obtain an E-2 visa for a new investment today, in alphabetical order of the English country names, with the date the investor provisions entered into force and whether the E-1 Treaty Trader visa is also available. Germany, Austria and Switzerland are all on it, with E-2 in force since 14 July 1956, 27 May 1931 and 8 November 1855.

A treaty date does not change how a case is assessed today: a nationality covered since the nineteenth century and one covered since 2024 follow the same E-2 rules. What differs by nationality is the visa validity period and any reciprocity fee, which the State Department sets country by country on its reciprocity schedule. We have not recorded those figures here because that schedule could not be read in a verifiable form; your attorney checks them for your nationality.

Is my country on the E-2 list?

Your country is on the list if it appears in the table above. Check three points before you rely on it:

• Nationality, not residence. E-2 eligibility follows the passport you hold, not where you live. A Brazilian national living in Zurich does not qualify through Swiss residence, while a German national living in Dubai qualifies as a German national.
• Country of incorporation does not decide it. Under 9 FAM 402.9-4(B), the nationality of a business is the nationality of its individual owners. A company registered in Germany but owned by non-treaty nationals is not a German enterprise for E-2 purposes.
• Special cases. The UK treaty covers UK nationals only, not nationals of other Commonwealth countries. The Danish treaty does not apply to Greenland. The French treaty also covers Martinique, Guadeloupe, French Guiana and Réunion, and the Dutch treaty also covers Aruba and the former Netherlands Antilles.

Which countries have the E-1 visa but not the E-2?

Two countries in the treaty table have E-1 Treaty Trader provisions but no E-2 investor provisions: Greece, with E-1 in force since 13 October 1954, and Brunei, with E-1 since 11 July 1853. Greek and Bruneian nationals therefore cannot obtain an E-2 visa on that nationality, even with a substantial investment. They may qualify for the E-1 Treaty Trader visa instead, which requires substantial, existing trade, with more than 50 percent of the trader's international trade carried on between the United States and the treaty country. Greece is the case most often listed wrongly as an E-2 country, so it is worth checking twice.

The reverse also exists: Grenada and Bahrain have E-2 provisions but no E-1, and many other countries in the table, such as Albania, Egypt and Ukraine, are E-2 only.

Which countries are closed to new E-2 investments?

Bolivia and Ecuador appear in the treaty table with E-2 provisions, but neither is open for a new E-2 investment, because the underlying investment treaties have ended and only legacy investments remain covered:

• Bolivia: E-2 is limited to activity furthering investments established or acquired before 10 June 2012, and the entitlement for those investments ran until 10 June 2022. A new investment by a Bolivian national does not qualify. Bolivia's E-1 treaty, in force since 9 November 1862, is unaffected.
• Ecuador: only Ecuadorian nationals furthering investments established or acquired before 18 May 2018 qualify, and only until 18 May 2028. A new investment does not qualify. Ecuador has no E-1 treaty.

These two countries are therefore not counted in the 79 nationalities above. The table also keeps a historic row for the former Yugoslavia; its successor states Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia are listed individually and included in our count.

Has any country been added to the E-2 list recently?

Yes. Portugal is the most recent addition: E-1 and E-2 have been available to Portuguese nationals since 15 March 2024. Before that, New Zealand gained E-1 and E-2 from 10 June 2019, and Israel, which has had E-1 since 1954, gained E-2 from 1 May 2019. On the other side, Ecuador's coverage for pre-2018 investments ends on 18 May 2028, and Bolivia's legacy entitlement already ended in 2022.

Two corrections to lists that still circulate online: Greece is E-1 only, as described above, and Bosnia and Herzegovina is an E-2 country as a successor state bound by the treaty in force with the former Yugoslavia. The table is amended by new State Department transmittals, so a list is only as current as the edition it was read from. Ours is dated in the table caption, and we re-check it with each new transmittal.

Which major countries are not on the E-2 list?

China (mainland), India, Russia, Brazil, Vietnam, Liechtenstein, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait are not on the E-2 treaty list, so their nationals cannot obtain an E-2 visa on that nationality. For readers in the German-speaking region, the most relevant entry is Liechtenstein: it is not a treaty country, although its neighbours Switzerland and Austria are.

Not being on the list does not close the United States. Several US routes are open to every nationality: the EB-5 investor green card, the O-1 visa for individuals with extraordinary ability, the L-1A visa for executives and managers of an existing company abroad, and the employment-based green cards. Our US immigration overview compares them.

Some investors already hold the nationality of a treaty country through birth, descent or naturalisation. Treaty nationality is assessed on the passport you use for the application, and the business must be owned at least 50% by nationals of that same country.

Not sure where your nationality leaves you? Book a free consultation with Mirabello Consultancy and we will map the US routes open to your passport, or ask Mira, by Mirabello, for a first orientation.

Can dual nationals use their second passport for the E-2?

Yes. A dual national can apply on the nationality of either treaty country, but a business can have only one qualifying nationality. Under 9 FAM 402.9-4(B), the owner must choose which nationality to use, and the owner and all E visa employees of that company must hold that nationality and present themselves as nationals of that country for all E visa purposes involving the company. The one exception is an enterprise owned and controlled equally, 50/50, by nationals of two treaty countries: employees of either nationality may then obtain E visas for that company.

In practice, the treaty nationality is the passport you apply with, and it must be the same nationality throughout the company's E visa file. A German and Brazilian dual national, for example, applies as a German national and the company must qualify as German-owned.

Whether you can hold two nationalities at all is a question of each country's own law, not US law. Under German law, a German who acquires a foreign nationality on application no longer loses German citizenship since 27 June 2024, because the former rule in § 25 of the Nationality Act was repealed (not retroactively). Under Austrian law, the Citizenship Act 1985 provides that Austrian citizenship is lost on voluntarily acquiring a foreign one unless retention was approved in advance, on narrow grounds. Under Swiss law, Switzerland has recognised dual nationality without restriction since 1 January 1992. Other nationalities follow their own law, and some countries remove the original nationality automatically when a citizen acquires another one, so check your home country's rules before you act.

Must the business be at least 50 percent owned by treaty nationals?

Yes. In every E-2 case, nationals of the treaty country must own at least 50 percent of the US enterprise (9 FAM 402.9-6(F)), and the USCIS E-2 page states the same requirement. Shares owned by US lawful permanent residents do not count towards that 50 percent, even if the holder also has the treaty nationality. Where one business owns another, the officer looks through each layer of ownership to the individual owners.

The investor must also be in a position to develop and direct the enterprise. This is normally shown through at least 50 percent ownership, but it can also be shown through operational control, for example a managerial position or another corporate device. An equal 50/50 joint venture between two parties generally gives each party control, while an equal partnership of more than two partners does not give control to any one of them. Holding a management title alone is not enough if the investor does not and will not control the business.

The investment itself must be substantial and at risk, in a real operating business that is not marginal. There is no fixed legal minimum; our E-2 page explains the proportionality test, and our guide to buying a US franchise for the E-2 applies it to franchise investments.

Does my spouse also need to hold a treaty nationality?

No. Under 9 FAM 402.9-9, the spouse and unmarried children under 21 of an E-2 investor are entitled to derivative status, and their nationality may not be material. Family members who hold a treaty nationality receive visas under the reciprocity schedule of their own nationality, or for the principal's visa or stay if that is shorter; family members of a non-treaty nationality also qualify and follow the principal's schedule. A spouse in E-2 status is employment authorised incident to status and may still request a work permit.

What should German, Austrian and Swiss nationals do next?

German, Austrian and Swiss nationals are all eligible, so the list is not the obstacle; the business case is. The questions that decide an application are whether the investment is substantial and at risk, whether the business is real and not marginal, and whether you will develop and direct it. Our detailed guide on the E-2 visa for Germans, Austrians and Swiss covers those points, and our article on green card options from the E-2 explains what the E-2 cannot do: it is a temporary, renewable visa, not a green card.

Mirabello Consultancy advises and coordinates; an independent licensed US immigration attorney prepares and files the application, and approval is discretionary, with the consular officer or USCIS acting on each case.