Begin with the records needed to establish service, duties and the specific disputed interval, rather than assuming volume proves eligibility.
Define the evidence request
Identify relevant employment dates and ask what authentic records exist. Keep government fees and professional charges separate from administrative retrieval costs. An expensive archive search is not a guarantee that an unsupported employment period can qualify.
For a transfer tied to an acquisition, the expensive part is proving the relationship: obtaining certified corporate records from two jurisdictions, having accountants produce financial statements for both entities, and paying counsel to write a petition that traces ownership cleanly. Extension filings on their own cycle with charges taken from the current fee schedule, annual accounting for two entities, legal review whenever the corporate structure or the role changes, and eventually the cost of whatever succeeds the assignment when the maximum is reached. The predictable surprise for a closely held group is the cost of tidying corporate records: issuing shares that were only ever agreed, recording transfers, preparing registers, obtaining certificates of good standing, and having accountants produce statements for entities that have never needed audited figures.