Settle ownership first, then sign an agreement holding the price in escrow, and clear the regulatory consents so that the immigration decision is the only condition still outstanding when the application is adjudicated, because escrowed funds are treated as irrevocably committed only on that footing. Funding a purchase before the consents are known risks paying for a business that cannot lawfully operate.
Two contingencies, one escrow, in a deliberate order
The sequence resolves a tension that defeats many acquisitions of this type. The classification wants capital irrevocably committed, while commercial sense says do not pay for leases a regulator may refuse to transfer. Escrow can carry both, but only in that order: funds held in escrow count as irrevocably committed where the immigration decision is the single condition left outstanding, so the regulatory consents need to be resolved before the application is adjudicated rather than left running alongside it, and the drafting should be done by the business lawyer before an adviser is asked whether the structure works.
In parallel Renaud gathers the trail of his capital, the seller's financial disclosures and his operating plan for the farm. Only then is the application made, and consular appointment availability should be checked before dates are promised to the seller. Two temptations should be resisted throughout.
He should not begin directing the farm's operations during visits before approval. And he should not let a slipping consent push him into releasing funds early to keep the seller at the table.