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APPLICATION ANSWERS · E-2 FIELD GUIDE

Does access to the seller’s software establish that the business can operate after purchase in North Bay?

Sources checked:

THE DIRECT ANSWER

Not necessarily. Identify the legal licence and transfer rights, not merely the ability to log in. The actual enterprise must be described under the rights it will hold.

Read the permission behind the access

Record the licensee, permitted users, territory, transfer conditions and any required consent. Ask the appropriate commercial adviser how the transaction affects those rights. The E-2 review separately considers the enterprise, qualifying investment, nationality and development and direction. Do not present temporary access as a completed operating entitlement.

A new enterprise can qualify if it will be real and active, and it must not be marginal, generally showing capacity beyond a minimal living or significant economic impact within five years after normal business activity begins. The classification for employees requires that the enterprise be at least fifty percent owned by treaty-country nationals, that the employee share that nationality, and that the position be executive or supervisory, or require special qualifications essential to the enterprise. Voting rights, board composition, veto provisions, and reserved matters decide whether the applicant is positioned to develop and direct the enterprise, and a minority holder with negotiated control may be better placed than a majority holder bound by investor protections.