A spouse admitted in E-2 dependent status is employment-authorized incident to that status and may work for any employer. Children admitted as dependants may study but may not work, and their dependent status ends at twenty-one, which is a date to plan for rather than to discover.
Decide whether the second adult is in the business or outside it
Two arrangements are common and they have different consequences. If the partner is a co-owner who will develop and direct the enterprise, the ownership chart and the application should say so, and both may hold principal status. If the partner intends to work elsewhere, dependent status permits it, and the household budget can count that income.
The choice affects the ownership arithmetic, because the fifty-percent treaty-national requirement is measured on the ownership of the enterprise, and it affects what happens if the couple separates or one of them returns to Canada. Decide it before shares are issued. For children, put the twenty-first birthday on the same calendar as the status expiry and plan the transition to a student or other category at least a year ahead.
Hypothetical example: an independent-bookstore owner expects her spouse to manage events while their older child studies nearby. Decide first whether the spouse will hold derivative or principal status and what the child's age permits. Prepare a family matrix covering work authorization, school plans, medical coverage, and every status expiry.
A first review should make clear who can perform paid work for the enterprise and who cannot. The common mistake is assigning business duties informally to a dependant child or overlooking an approaching twenty-first birthday until the household has no time to arrange another route.