The nationality of the individuals who own the enterprise, traced through any intermediate companies, rather than the place of incorporation. A treaty basis must be identified and supported for the business as well as for the applicant. Where owners hold several citizenships, or hold through entities in other countries, counsel should work through the chain before the application approach is chosen.
Draw the chart from documents, not memory
Founders can usually recite the ownership split, and the recited version is often wrong by a few percent or a whole entity. Build the diagram from share certificates, registers and executed transfer documents, then have each owner confirm their own citizenship with the passport rather than a statement. Where residence is being confused with citizenship, correct it immediately, because that single confusion can invalidate the entire nationality analysis.
Build the ownership diagram from share certificates, registers, and executed transfer documents rather than from what the founders can recite, because the recited version is commonly wrong by a few percentage points or by a whole entity. Then have each owner confirm their own citizenship with a passport rather than a statement. Where residence is being confused with citizenship, correct it immediately, since that single confusion can invalidate the entire nationality analysis.
The nationality of the individuals who own the enterprise, traced through any intermediate companies, decides the question rather than the place of incorporation, and a treaty basis must be supported for the business as well as the applicant.