Cross-border moves are technically complex, emotionally significant, and frequently opaque. The Ovata process is designed to make the path explicit, the trade-offs visible, and the experience calm. Every engagement runs through the same seven stages, with the same single point of accountability.
A first conversation — confidential, complimentary, and without obligation. We listen before we recommend. The aim is to understand the family, the capital, the destination preferences, and the reasons behind them. If Ovata is not the right firm for the matter, we say so on this call, and where we can we point the principal towards a firm that is.
A structured written assessment of the residence and citizenship programmes for which the family qualifies, with explicit consideration of source-of-funds documentation, family inclusion rules, criminal-record requirements, and tax-residency starting position. The output is a short memo identifying the three or four programmes that genuinely fit — not a long list of every option theoretically available.
A working session with the principal (and any existing advisors the family wants in the room) to translate the eligibility memo into a chosen direction. We talk through trade-offs in plain language: residence requirements, tax exposure, programme stability, processing times, and the reputational posture of each option. We document the chosen path in a strategy note that becomes the working brief for the rest of the engagement.
The technical work begins. Ovata engages named local counsel in the relevant jurisdiction and project-manages the file: source-of-wealth documentation, banking introductions, accommodation arrangements, KYC and due-diligence packs, and any preliminary rulings the programme requires. This is typically the longest stage — and the one where good preparation determines the outcome.
Local counsel files; Ovata manages the relationship with the government authority and the principal. We brief the principal weekly during this stage, surface any requests for additional documentation immediately, and coordinate the response. The principal never has to chase the file — that is our job.
On approval, Ovata coordinates the practical settlement: physical move, communal or local registration, banking introductions, language and household logistics, and warm introductions into our curated referral network of accountants, financial advisors, credit advisors, law firms and private-bank relationship managers in the destination jurisdiction. For many families this is the first stage at which the move becomes tangible — and the stage at which good preparation in earlier stages pays off most visibly.
Permits need to be renewed, children grow up and require their own permits, second residences are sometimes planned, regulatory positions evolve. Ovata maintains a continuing relationship with the family for as long as they want one — typically a light-touch annual review supplemented by on-demand support. The lifetime relationship is where the rest of the work earns its keep.
The initial consultation is complimentary and without obligation. There is no other way to start.