If the self-employment question is unresolved, avoid finalizing dependent travel, schooling, or housing plans around this offer until the employment structure is confirmed as qualifying. An unresolved structural issue can delay or derail the whole case, so household commitments should wait for a clearer picture of whether the arrangement will hold up.
Hold family commitments until the structure is settled
Discuss with the household that this particular offer carries more structural uncertainty than a standard employment offer, since the ownership question needs to be resolved first. Avoid encouraging a spouse to resign from current work or committing to a school year abroad based on this offer alone until independent supervision is documented and the arrangement looks presentable as qualifying employment rather than self-employment. There is a second reason for caution here that has nothing to do with the ownership question.
Dependents in this category hold TD status, which carries no work authorization, so a spouse intending to work needs an independent basis with its own timeline. A household weighing an offer that already carries structural uncertainty should know both facts at once, since together they describe a move where one income is conditional on an unresolved question and the other is not authorised at all. Set out which commitments are reversible and at what cost, and keep those reversible until the structure has actually been reviewed.