Ownership structure has to be settled before signing, because a purchase agreement drafted around a minority stake cannot be fixed afterwards. The application follows once the capital is committed and the enterprise is real and operating, since evidence of a business that has started is far stronger than a description of one that is planned.
Structure first, spend second, apply third
The order matters because each step constrains the next. Fixing the ownership percentages first means the agreement, the corporate documents and the treaty-nationality analysis all point the same way from the outset, and it avoids the awkward position of asking a seller to reopen commercial terms after signing. Committing the capital next produces the evidence the application actually needs, which is why many buyers close, take over operations and apply from a position where staff are employed and customers are being served.
Conditional structures are available where a buyer is unwilling to commit before knowing the outcome, and they have to be drafted so that the commitment is genuine rather than reversible at will. What rarely succeeds is applying against a plan alone, with money still in the investor's account and a business that has not begun.