diff --git a/packages/owletto-backend/src/__tests__/integration/relationships/entity-relationships.test.ts b/packages/owletto-backend/src/__tests__/integration/relationships/entity-relationships.test.ts
index 72e0179a1..efdf5424c 100644
--- a/packages/owletto-backend/src/__tests__/integration/relationships/entity-relationships.test.ts
+++ b/packages/owletto-backend/src/__tests__/integration/relationships/entity-relationships.test.ts
@@ -580,6 +580,51 @@ describe('Entity Relationships', () => {
       ).rejects.toThrow(/organization/i);
     });
 
+    it('should allow cross-org relationship when target is in a public-catalog org', async () => {
+      const publicOrg = await createTestOrganization({
+        name: 'Public Catalog Org',
+        visibility: 'public',
+      });
+      const publicEntity = await createTestEntity({
+        name: 'Public Canonical Entity',
+        entity_type: 'brand',
+        organization_id: publicOrg.id,
+      });
+
+      const result = await mcpToolsCall(
+        'manage_entity',
+        {
+          action: 'link',
+          from_entity_id: entityA1.id,
+          to_entity_id: publicEntity.id,
+          relationship_type_slug: 'depends-on',
+        },
+        { token: tokenA }
+      );
+      expect(result.action).toBe('link');
+      // Relationship's organization_id is the source's (caller's) org, not the target's.
+      expect(result.relationship.organization_id).toBe(orgA.id);
+    });
+
+    it('should reject a relationship whose source is in a different org from the caller', async () => {
+      // userA is signed in (tokenA → orgA), but the source entity is in orgB.
+      // Even though tokenA's caller has access to read entityB1, they cannot
+      // author a relationship *from* it — sources must always be in the
+      // caller's org.
+      await expect(
+        mcpToolsCall(
+          'manage_entity',
+          {
+            action: 'link',
+            from_entity_id: entityB1.id,
+            to_entity_id: entityA2.id,
+            relationship_type_slug: 'depends-on',
+          },
+          { token: tokenA }
+        )
+      ).rejects.toThrow(/does not belong to your organization/i);
+    });
+
     it('should reject nonexistent relationship type', async () => {
       await expect(
         mcpToolsCall(
diff --git a/packages/owletto-backend/src/tools/admin/manage_entity.ts b/packages/owletto-backend/src/tools/admin/manage_entity.ts
index d3e3b76fe..6d5c4c4c9 100644
--- a/packages/owletto-backend/src/tools/admin/manage_entity.ts
+++ b/packages/owletto-backend/src/tools/admin/manage_entity.ts
@@ -933,9 +933,27 @@ async function handleLink(
   let fromId = args.from_entity_id;
   let toId = args.to_entity_id;
   if (isSymmetric) {
-    const canonical = canonicalizeSymmetricEdge(fromId, toId);
-    fromId = canonical.from;
-    toId = canonical.to;
+    // For symmetric same-org pairs we canonicalize by id so dedup catches
+    // a → b and b → a as the same edge. For cross-org pairs (target in a
+    // public catalog), keep the caller's-org entity as `from` even if its
+    // id is higher, so the stored source matches the semantic source. The
+    // canonical form would otherwise leave rows where `from_entity_id`
+    // points at a public catalog row under a tenant `organization_id` —
+    // tenant-owned but cosmetically inverted.
+    const orgRows = await sql<{ id: number; organization_id: string }>`
+      SELECT id, organization_id FROM entities WHERE id IN (${fromId}, ${toId})
+    `;
+    const orgOf = (id: number) =>
+      String(orgRows.find((r) => Number(r.id) === id)?.organization_id);
+    const sameOrg =
+      orgOf(fromId) === ctx.organizationId && orgOf(toId) === ctx.organizationId;
+    if (sameOrg) {
+      const canonical = canonicalizeSymmetricEdge(fromId, toId);
+      fromId = canonical.from;
+      toId = canonical.to;
+    }
+    // else: cross-org symmetric — preserve caller-from / public-to.
+    // validateScopeRule already required `from` to be in caller's org.
   }
 
   await checkDuplicateEdge(fromId, toId, typeId, sql);
diff --git a/packages/owletto-backend/src/utils/__tests__/entity-management-schema-search.test.ts b/packages/owletto-backend/src/utils/__tests__/entity-management-schema-search.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4c2c95bce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/owletto-backend/src/utils/__tests__/entity-management-schema-search.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,177 @@
+/**
+ * Schema search path: createEntity falls back to public-catalog orgs when a
+ * type slug isn't registered in the entity's own org. Tenant-local types
+ * still win when both exist (so user-defined types beat catalog types of the
+ * same slug).
+ */
+
+import type { EntityLinkRule } from '@lobu/owletto-sdk';
+import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
+import { cleanupTestDatabase, getTestDb } from '../../__tests__/setup/test-db';
+import {
+  addUserToOrganization,
+  createTestConnectorDefinition,
+  createTestOrganization,
+  createTestUser,
+} from '../../__tests__/setup/test-fixtures';
+import { applyEntityLinks, clearEntityLinkRulesCache } from '../entity-link-upsert';
+import { createEntity } from '../entity-management';
+
+async function seedEntityType(orgId: string, slug: string) {
+  const sql = getTestDb();
+  const rows = await sql<{ id: number }[]>`
+    INSERT INTO entity_types (organization_id, slug, name, created_at, updated_at)
+    VALUES (${orgId}, ${slug}, ${slug}, current_timestamp, current_timestamp)
+    RETURNING id
+  `;
+  return rows[0].id;
+}
+
+describe('entity-management schema search path', () => {
+  beforeEach(async () => {
+    await cleanupTestDatabase();
+  });
+
+  it('resolves an entity_type from a public-catalog org when missing locally', async () => {
+    const tenant = await createTestOrganization({ name: 'Tenant Schema Search' });
+    const publicCatalog = await createTestOrganization({
+      name: 'Public Catalog A',
+      visibility: 'public',
+    });
+    const user = await createTestUser();
+    await addUserToOrganization(user.id, tenant.id, 'owner');
+
+    const publicTypeId = await seedEntityType(publicCatalog.id, 'tax_filing');
+
+    const created = await createEntity({
+      entity_type: 'tax_filing',
+      name: 'Self Assessment 2024-25',
+      organization_id: tenant.id,
+      created_by: user.id,
+    } as Parameters<typeof createEntity>[0]);
+
+    expect(created.entity_type).toBe('tax_filing');
+
+    const sql = getTestDb();
+    const rows = await sql<{ entity_type_id: number; organization_id: string }[]>`
+      SELECT entity_type_id, organization_id FROM entities WHERE id = ${created.id}
+    `;
+    // Materialized: the entity row lives in tenant, but its type points at the
+    // public-catalog row.
+    expect(String(rows[0].organization_id)).toBe(tenant.id);
+    expect(Number(rows[0].entity_type_id)).toBe(publicTypeId);
+  });
+
+  it('prefers a tenant-local entity_type over a public-catalog one with the same slug', async () => {
+    const tenant = await createTestOrganization({ name: 'Tenant Local-Wins' });
+    const publicCatalog = await createTestOrganization({
+      name: 'Public Catalog B',
+      visibility: 'public',
+    });
+    const user = await createTestUser();
+    await addUserToOrganization(user.id, tenant.id, 'owner');
+
+    await seedEntityType(publicCatalog.id, 'tax_filing');
+    const tenantTypeId = await seedEntityType(tenant.id, 'tax_filing');
+
+    const created = await createEntity({
+      entity_type: 'tax_filing',
+      name: 'Local Override',
+      organization_id: tenant.id,
+      created_by: user.id,
+    } as Parameters<typeof createEntity>[0]);
+
+    const sql = getTestDb();
+    const rows = await sql<{ entity_type_id: number }[]>`
+      SELECT entity_type_id FROM entities WHERE id = ${created.id}
+    `;
+    expect(Number(rows[0].entity_type_id)).toBe(tenantTypeId);
+  });
+
+  it('rejects an unknown entity_type that isn\'t in tenant or any public catalog', async () => {
+    const tenant = await createTestOrganization({ name: 'Tenant Unknown-Type' });
+    const user = await createTestUser();
+    await addUserToOrganization(user.id, tenant.id, 'owner');
+
+    await expect(
+      createEntity({
+        entity_type: 'never_registered_anywhere',
+        name: 'Should Fail',
+        organization_id: tenant.id,
+        created_by: user.id,
+      } as Parameters<typeof createEntity>[0])
+    ).rejects.toThrow(/Unknown entity type/i);
+  });
+
+  it('does not search private orgs that the caller is not a member of', async () => {
+    const tenant = await createTestOrganization({ name: 'Tenant No-Snoop' });
+    const otherPrivate = await createTestOrganization({
+      name: 'Some Other Private Org',
+      visibility: 'private',
+    });
+    const user = await createTestUser();
+    await addUserToOrganization(user.id, tenant.id, 'owner');
+
+    await seedEntityType(otherPrivate.id, 'secret_type');
+
+    await expect(
+      createEntity({
+        entity_type: 'secret_type',
+        name: 'Should Fail',
+        organization_id: tenant.id,
+        created_by: user.id,
+      } as Parameters<typeof createEntity>[0])
+    ).rejects.toThrow(/Unknown entity type/i);
+  });
+
+  // The same resolver lives in entity-link-upsert.ts (auto-link path). Drift
+  // here would be caught by this test.
+  it('entity-link-upsert resolves a public-catalog type when no tenant type matches', async () => {
+    const tenant = await createTestOrganization({ name: 'Tenant Auto-Link' });
+    const publicCatalog = await createTestOrganization({
+      name: 'Public Catalog C',
+      visibility: 'public',
+    });
+    const user = await createTestUser();
+    await addUserToOrganization(user.id, tenant.id, 'owner');
+
+    const publicTypeId = await seedEntityType(publicCatalog.id, 'public_actor');
+
+    const connectorKey = 'auto-link-cross-org';
+    const feedKey = 'msgs';
+    const originType = 'msg';
+    const rule: EntityLinkRule = {
+      entityType: 'public_actor',
+      autoCreate: true,
+      titlePath: 'metadata.name',
+      identities: [{ namespace: 'phone', eventPath: 'metadata.phone' }],
+    };
+    await createTestConnectorDefinition({
+      key: connectorKey,
+      name: connectorKey,
+      organization_id: tenant.id,
+      feeds_schema: {
+        [feedKey]: { eventKinds: { [originType]: { entityLinks: [rule] } } },
+      },
+    });
+    clearEntityLinkRulesCache();
+
+    await applyEntityLinks({
+      connectorKey,
+      feedKey,
+      orgId: tenant.id,
+      items: [
+        { origin_type: originType, metadata: { phone: '14155551234', name: 'Alex' } },
+      ],
+    });
+
+    const sql = getTestDb();
+    const rows = await sql<{ id: number; entity_type_id: number; organization_id: string }[]>`
+      SELECT id, entity_type_id, organization_id
+      FROM entities
+      WHERE organization_id = ${tenant.id} AND name = 'Alex' AND deleted_at IS NULL
+    `;
+    expect(rows.length).toBe(1);
+    expect(Number(rows[0].entity_type_id)).toBe(publicTypeId);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/owletto-backend/src/utils/entity-link-upsert.ts b/packages/owletto-backend/src/utils/entity-link-upsert.ts
index ca86ca472..bfb426077 100644
--- a/packages/owletto-backend/src/utils/entity-link-upsert.ts
+++ b/packages/owletto-backend/src/utils/entity-link-upsert.ts
@@ -212,12 +212,20 @@ async function createEntityWithIdentities(params: {
   const metadata: Record<string, unknown> = {};
   for (const [key, value] of params.traits) metadata[key] = value;
 
-  // Resolve entity_type slug to FK on entity_types(id).
+  // Resolve entity_type slug → entity_types(id). Same schema search path as
+  // createEntity: try the entity's own org first, then any visibility='public'
+  // catalog. First match wins. See createEntity for the slug-poisoning caveat.
   const typeRow = await sql<{ id: number }>`
-    SELECT id FROM entity_types
-    WHERE slug = ${params.entityType}
-      AND organization_id = ${params.orgId}
-      AND deleted_at IS NULL
+    SELECT et.id
+    FROM entity_types et
+    LEFT JOIN organization o ON o.id = et.organization_id
+    WHERE et.slug = ${params.entityType}
+      AND et.deleted_at IS NULL
+      AND (
+        et.organization_id = ${params.orgId}
+        OR o.visibility = 'public'
+      )
+    ORDER BY (et.organization_id = ${params.orgId}) DESC, et.id ASC
     LIMIT 1
   `;
   if (typeRow.length === 0) {
diff --git a/packages/owletto-backend/src/utils/entity-management.ts b/packages/owletto-backend/src/utils/entity-management.ts
index c2e06dade..d474ec706 100644
--- a/packages/owletto-backend/src/utils/entity-management.ts
+++ b/packages/owletto-backend/src/utils/entity-management.ts
@@ -232,12 +232,31 @@ export async function createEntity(
 
   const sql = getDb();
 
-  // Resolve entity_type slug to FK on entity_types(id).
+  // Resolve entity_type slug → entity_types(id) via the schema search path:
+  //   1. The entity's own org (the user's tenant — local types win).
+  //   2. Any org with visibility='public' (canonical/world-knowledge catalogs).
+  // First match wins. The resolved id is materialized on the row so reads
+  // never need to repeat the search. `ORDER BY (et.organization_id = own_org)
+  // DESC` keeps tenant-local types ahead of public ones when both exist.
+  //
+  // KNOWN LIMITATION: this trusts every visibility='public' org as a curated
+  // catalog. If a tenant can flip their own org public *and* register types
+  // before another tenant references the same slug, they could squat on
+  // common slugs (`brand`, `tax_filing`). Operationally we restrict
+  // visibility flips to admins; long-term the right fix is either an
+  // explicit `is_catalog` flag on `organization` or per-agent `uses_catalog`
+  // declarations narrowing the search scope.
   const typeRow = await sql<{ id: number }>`
-    SELECT id FROM entity_types
-    WHERE slug = ${data.entity_type}
-      AND deleted_at IS NULL
-      AND organization_id = ${data.organization_id}
+    SELECT et.id
+    FROM entity_types et
+    LEFT JOIN organization o ON o.id = et.organization_id
+    WHERE et.slug = ${data.entity_type}
+      AND et.deleted_at IS NULL
+      AND (
+        et.organization_id = ${data.organization_id}
+        OR o.visibility = 'public'
+      )
+    ORDER BY (et.organization_id = ${data.organization_id}) DESC, et.id ASC
     LIMIT 1
   `;
   if (typeRow.length === 0) {
diff --git a/packages/owletto-backend/src/utils/relationship-validation.ts b/packages/owletto-backend/src/utils/relationship-validation.ts
index ac2fbe1ba..ecb64f413 100644
--- a/packages/owletto-backend/src/utils/relationship-validation.ts
+++ b/packages/owletto-backend/src/utils/relationship-validation.ts
@@ -57,7 +57,17 @@ export function canonicalizeSymmetricEdge(
 
 /**
  * Validate scope rule for a relationship.
- * Both entities must belong to the same organization.
+ *
+ * The from_entity must belong to the caller's organization (relationships are
+ * always authored from the source's org). The to_entity may be either in the
+ * same org or in a public-catalog org (`organization.visibility='public'`),
+ * which lets a tenant's relationship reference canonical world entities like
+ * HMRC or Barclays without copying them locally.
+ *
+ * Public → tenant references are forbidden — public catalogs never reach into
+ * private orgs. The relationship row's organization_id always matches the
+ * source's org (the caller's), keeping the assertion under the caller's
+ * delete/visibility control.
  */
 export async function validateScopeRule(
   fromEntityId: number,
@@ -68,9 +78,10 @@ export async function validateScopeRule(
   const sql = getDb();
 
   const rows = await sql`
-    SELECT id, organization_id
-    FROM entities
-    WHERE id IN (${fromEntityId}, ${toEntityId})
+    SELECT e.id, e.organization_id, o.visibility
+    FROM entities e
+    LEFT JOIN organization o ON o.id = e.organization_id
+    WHERE e.id IN (${fromEntityId}, ${toEntityId})
   `;
 
   if (rows.length < 2) {
@@ -82,12 +93,20 @@ export async function validateScopeRule(
   const fromEntity = rows.find((r) => Number(r.id) === fromEntityId)!;
   const toEntity = rows.find((r) => Number(r.id) === toEntityId)!;
 
-  // Multi-tenant: both entities must be in the same organization as the user
+  // Source must always be in the caller's org — you can't author relationships
+  // *from* someone else's entity.
   if (String(fromEntity.organization_id) !== ctx.organizationId) {
     throw new Error(`Entity ${fromEntityId} does not belong to your organization`);
   }
-  if (String(toEntity.organization_id) !== ctx.organizationId) {
-    throw new Error(`Entity ${toEntityId} does not belong to your organization`);
+
+  // Target may be same-org OR a public-catalog entity. Anything else (a
+  // private org you don't control) is rejected.
+  const toOrgId = String(toEntity.organization_id);
+  const toVisibility = String(toEntity.visibility ?? 'private');
+  if (toOrgId !== ctx.organizationId && toVisibility !== 'public') {
+    throw new Error(
+      `Entity ${toEntityId} is in a private organization that does not belong to you. Cross-org references are only allowed to entities in public catalogs.`
+    );
   }
 }