SQUAD is a fast-growing French cyber defence firm, listed on the Financial Times 2019 Fastest Growing European companies, with clients ranging across defence industries to banking institutions. The firm sought to establish an Australian subsidiary in 2018, an effort cemented by French President Emmanuel Macron's invitation to accompany him on a state visit to Australia.

Roam Migration Law engaged with SQUAD to establish an immigration framework for the business's entry into the Australian market. With a well-established business and client portfolio in France it was necessary to understand the company's strategy for market entry, including liaising with the organisation's Australian representatives and commercial advisors, manage the immigration process in a timely and effective manner and deliver key technical workers on a time critical basis.

About SQUAD

SQUAD was established in 2011 by CEO Eric Guillerm to combat the growing threat of cyber risks. SQUAD has experienced massive growth, with a turnover of ?50m in 2019. This continuous growth has made SQUAD one of France's TOP10 Cybersecurity specialists, receiving both national (SYNTEC-KPMG, Deloitte, Les Echos) and international recognition (Financial Times, Deloitte). SQUAD is headquartered in Paris and has offices in Aix-en-Provence, Nice, Toulouse, Lyon, Rennes, Nantes, Adelaide and Sydney.

The challenges

Roam Migration Law and SQUAD worked closely together to align commercial strategy with the immigration process. To ensure a smooth transition to the Australian market we worked closely with SQUAD executives and a variety of service providers to ensure the business could commence providing commercial services in Australia in a short period while continuing to grow their local presence.

How we helped

Roam Migration Law assisted SQUAD with the initial business sponsorship to enable the organisation to transition key staff and executives to Australia to meet commercial requirements. In addition, Roam Migration Law has provided support on a variety of urgent, short term engagements to ensure that relevant staff could complete project critical work through the Short Stay Specialist Subclass 400 visa where appropriate.

Roam Migration Law subsequently supported SQUAD to ensure commercial compliance throughout the transition from direct control by the French parent company to establishment of a local sponsorship arrangement under the local subsidiary through the provision of ongoing advice and technical support.

Throughout the project Roam Migration Law was able to work across different time zones and provide multilingual advice to ensure optimal advice in a timely fashion.

The results

Roam Migration Law were able to provide SQUAD with the advice and support necessary to meet commercial engagements in Australia in a timely and efficient manner. Over time Roam Migration Law has continued to provide the relevant assistance for the organisation to transition from direct engagement with the French parent to the Australian subsidiary, providing support with all relevant visa and sponsorship processes and ensuring the business remained compliant with immigration law.

Conclusion

If your organisation is seeking to enter the Australian market, we have the skills and experience to support a seamless transition for key staff and executives. Our experience with multinationals and start ups provides us with the knowledge and foresight to identify and address potential issues before they arise.

Forward planning is critical for any market entry and we can facilitate this process by working with existing service providers or recommending key partners to support the overall commercial process.