Before. Once a nonrefundable subscription is paid, the applicant has bought a commercial position that may not support the immigration purpose, and unwinding it depends on the other shareholders' goodwill. The cost of a control and nationality review is small against the stake, and it can be scoped to answer exactly those two questions first.
Separate deal costs from case costs
Corporate counsel negotiating the shareholder agreement, an accountant valuing the stake and a due-diligence review are deal costs, incurred whether or not an application follows. Immigration preparation, translations, and government charges for the chosen route are case costs; confirm current official amounts when the step arrives. Ask each adviser for a written scope, and put the control question at the front of the sequence so later spending is informed.
Split the budget into deal costs and case costs and keep them apart in every conversation. Corporate counsel negotiating the shareholder agreement, an accountant valuing the stake, and a due-diligence review are deal costs incurred whether or not any application follows. Preparation, translations, and government charges for the chosen route are case costs, and current official amounts should be confirmed when the step arrives.
Ask each adviser for a written scope, and put the control and nationality questions at the front of the sequence so later spending is informed by their answers. Once a nonrefundable subscription is paid, the applicant holds a commercial position that may not support the immigration purpose, and unwinding it depends on other people's goodwill.