Half a million committed. Do you file it yourself?

What the fee compares against

A managed residency filing costs EUR 4,900, or EUR 14,000 with property, banking and household alongside it. Against EUR 500,000 committed that is roughly one to three per cent. The comparison that matters is not fee against zero but fee against a refusal that goes on the record, a stalled file nobody owns, capital placed in an asset that does not qualify, or a tax position nobody modelled.

The five places files fail

The bank declines a structure that is entirely legal, because committees read source of funds first and a refusal must be disclosed to the next bank. The document chain breaks on apostilles, sworn translations and certificates that expire while others are gathered. Tax residency is assumed rather than tested. The investment does not qualify, or qualifies and cannot be unwound. And after approval nothing happens: renewals, presence evidence and registrations that a family discovers a year late.

When to do it yourself

If you hold one nationality, one salaried source of income, are filing in a country whose language you read, already bank there, have no company or trust in the picture, and nobody depends on the timing, then a competent local lawyer for a few hours will do it. Paying a firm to manage that file is paying for coordination you do not need.

When to hand it over

Income from more than one country or from a company you own; a structure between you and the money; a spouse, children or parents on the application; school places, healthcare or a sale that must land in the same window; or a previous refusal by a bank or an authority. Any one of these turns a form into a project with dependencies.

What to ask any firm

Do you take commission from anyone else, and if so the recommendation is not advice. Which routes did you rule out and why. Who owns my file by name, with a named deputy. What is quoted separately, in writing, before commitment. And who holds the renewal calendar after approval.