Bring the full agreements, including rights retained by the seller or a financing party. A headline ownership percentage does not describe every restriction on how the investor will operate or direct the enterprise.
Read the side agreements alongside the purchase contract
Identify approval rights, management arrangements, repayment obligations and any option that changes ownership later. Note who can authorize spending, hire staff and make the decisions the applicant expects to make. Ask the commercial adviser to explain the terms and the immigration reviewer to assess their implications. A short term sheet may be useful for initial discussion, but should not be treated as the complete legal arrangement.
The seller's package — three years of statements and returns, the payroll register with hours, an equipment list separating owned from leased, supplier and customer contracts, and the premises lease — supports substantiality, the operating nature of the enterprise and the marginality analysis. The set to assemble is formation documents for each entity in the chain, share registers and certificates, executed transfer agreements, the shareholders' agreement, board minutes recording appointments, citizenship evidence for the individuals at the top, and any convertible instruments or option grants.