Payroll spending does not purchase eligibility. The relevant question is whether actual staffing supports the qualifying role and business proposal.
Budget for responsibilities, not a magic number
Explain which operational tasks each position takes over and whether the business can sustain the plan. There is no universal minimum employee count that establishes managerial capacity. For a new office, connect resources to the operation’s ability to support the qualifying role within one year.
Build one schedule for premises, payroll capacity, equipment, insurance, and working capital; another for corporate records, translations, professional services, current government charges, and family filings; and a third for the shareholder’s personal contribution. A recently completed acquisition needs its corporate story assembled by somebody who understands what an adjudicator is testing: purchase documents, share registers, registry extracts and proof that the American terminal is doing business. Ask counsel to quote the eligibility assessment, petition preparation, premium processing if wanted, the extension petition in year one, and any response to a request for evidence as separate items, because a new-office case is more likely than an established-office case to draw questions. Employers planning a transfer around an employee whose record includes a gap should budget the additional preparation time as the real cost driver, rather than expecting a separate line-item government fee for the continuity issue itself.