Englishman in brazil

I am in need of some advice of what my options are?
My wife is Brazilian, we married just over a year ago here in Brazil were we are currently living (in truth we are travelling at the moment) The plan was to travel until September and then go back to the UK to live and work. I was naive in thinking the process would be easy but after some research I realised how wrong I was.
We were both working here but earning pennies and my English bank account is dry as a bone. We do have a place to stay in England but I don't have a job offer in writing, just a verbal promise from a building company I used to work for as a self employed carpenter.
Thinking that we won't make the criteria for the residency visa we need to know what are the alternative options:

I could go to England first and arrange everything there but we don't want to be apart.

Is it possible for her to enter with a tourist visa then apply for residency afterwards?

Could we remarry in the UK then apply for the residency visa?

Is there the option of being sponsored, by my parents for example?

If anyone can give some advise your help would be much appreciated.

christmasoompa

Hi, and welcome to BE.

I've moved your thread, as the Welcome Inn is really just a place to say hi, hopefully the lovely peeps in this section of the forum will be able to help with your questions.

Best of luck with it.

SanDiegogirl

I could go to England first and arrange everything there but we don't want to be apart.

>> Your best option. You have only been married a year so what is a few months apart?

Is it possible for her to enter with a tourist visa then apply for residency afterwards?

>>No, the spouse visa must be applied for from the home country.

Could we remarry in the UK then apply for the residency visa?

>>You are already legally married. Even if this were possible you would need a visa to marry in the UK and then apply for spouse visa (double the expense)

Is there the option of being sponsored, by my parents for example?

>> NO. They can gift you money but cannot sponsor you.

You need to find a job in the UK (earning 18,600 GBP or above) work there for 6 months and then apply for the visa.

Vexcore

What about he apply a family visit visa? and apply spouse visa in UK?

is that possible?

(the uk really needs to give it a rest on it's own british born citizens..)

Englishman in brazil

Hi Sandiegogirl thanks for the response.

......So the only options for the residency visa is work for 6 months then have to wait another 2 months for the decision? If I had a job offer in writing promising more than the £18,600 would that not be sufficient?

Would it be possible that my wife stays there 6 months on a tourist visa while I work, then she returns to Brazil while we make the application for the residency visa?

The option of my parents 'giving' me money to obtain the visa could be a possibility depending on the amount? but doesn't the money have to be in the applicants account for 6 months before the application?

Do you know if it would be possible for my wife to apply for a student visa once entered in the UK on a tourist visa?

Would it make any difference to our case if she had our child once in the UK?

I'm trying to look at all the possibilities available to us to, if there are any others?

Englishman in brazil

Hi Sandiegogirl thanks for the response.

......So the only options for the residency visa is work for 6 months then have to wait another 2 months for the decision? If I had a job offer in writing promising more than the £18,600 would that not be sufficient?

Would it be possible that my wife stays there 6 months on a tourist visa while I work, then she returns to Brazil while we make the application for the residency visa?

The option of my parents 'giving' me money to obtain the visa could be a possibility depending on the amount? but doesn't the money have to be in the applicants account for 6 months before the application?

Do you know if it would be possible for my wife to apply for a student visa once entered in the UK on a tourist visa?

Would it make any difference to our case if she had our child once in the UK?

I'm trying to look at all the possibilities available to us to, if there are any others?

formula

Only if you were already earning £18,600+ and had a contract to start a job in the UK of £18,600+ within 3 months.

She will have to show strong ties to Brazil, to show whe will leave at the end of her visit. i.e. a job to go back to in Brazil, property/rental agreements on a property in Brazil etc, especially as her husband has returned to live in the UK.

Yes and it has to be a gift and not a loan.

Visitors cannot switch visas in the UK. She will need to apply for a student visa (Tier 4 visa) from Brazil and she will have to study. She will be able to switch from a Tier4 visa to a spouse visa, when you can afford to sponsor her. Her being able to work while on a Tier 4 visa, will be limited.

Do you mean if she managed to get in on a visitor visa?
She will not be able to use the NHS for free and she will have to pay for all her treatment. NHS bills over £1,000 (which pregnancy and birth and after care will be) have to be paid before she is allowed a visa. A basic birth is about 3k and can run into tens of thousands if there are complications. If she arrives on a spouse visa, all this will be free on the NHS.

If you come back and work and then sponsor her, then any future immigration changes won't affect her as she will be in the UK under UK immigration rules. She is allowed to work on a spouse visa and when she applies for her second visa after 33 months, you can use her wages too to make the £18,600.

SanDiegogirl

You cannot apply for a spouse visa once in the UK - pretty logical really - you are supposed to have the visa BEFORE you enter the country.

alfista1

I have come to the UK with my Uruguayan wife and British son.
I am looking for work to comply with the 6 months of employment route.
I was very anxious about entering the country with my wife coming on a tourist visa.

I had documents prepared, bank account statements, return tickets etc etc.

I passed through the EU gate in 2 seconds, my wife went through the non-EU line with my son of course.

They didn't ask her anything!!!! She just stated we were visiting family.
They asked what I did only (the officer turned around and smiled at me). My wife asked if she needed to show her return tickets or have her fingerprint scanned. They said no not necessary and wished her a safe trip.

So she has a 6 month tourist stamp in her passport no questions asked. All worry for nothing!

There was a lot of talk about spouses being turned away to enter as a tourist. I got myself all worked up for nothing. Maybe we were lucky but really they didn't even ask to see her return ticket, where we were staying or anything about funds.

Good luck

michali

To be honest, alfista1, I think you were VERY lucky! It really depends a lot on the IO you meet up with at the gate. Glad it is working out for you. So is your plan for your wife to leave the UK and apply for a spouse visa when her six months is up?

alfista1

Yes that is the plan. But I am contacting immigration lawyers to try and fight for her stay as we have a 4 year old involved starting school and tearing him apart from family again (and UK school system which I am not sure we can take him out now) to go back just for the sake of a visa is well you know words cannot describe it. Human rights and all of that. My brother got fined for taking his son out of term time just for a few days!! How can I explain a 2-3 month absence because the home office are evicting his mother!
Worth a try but we are not expecting anything. Planned leave is December.

To be honest all my family were saying I was worrying about nothing coming through immigration, even my wife!
She is on vacation and visiting family. No reason to suspect anything. Not doing anything wrong.
They were right as she breezed through and laughed at me for worrying about nothing. Maybe too many scaremongers about.

BUT the whole move was the most stressful experience ever!! I got a little ill due to the stress. Hence the visit to my local NHS. Had some throat muscle spasms due to the stress (lasted about 3 months). All gone now but stress is building again now as I am looking for work. Applying to about 20-25 jobs a week. My CV is getting noticed now and receiving calls from agencies. Fingers crossed something will crop up soon. All due to location. Had plenty of interest from companies in London but too far to commute every day.

Was wonderful to have the furnished house set up for our arrival. Airport taxi straight to the door. Parents waiting here with the keys and fridge filled up with bacon, cheese, bread and milk! Bacon butties were cooked straight away!
Clean sheets on the beds and we relaxed nicely, Virgin media came 2 days later to connect us to the world and then nice new smart tv purchased.
A week later we bought a used car with only 60,000 miles for 1500 quid!! Insurance was expensive but that was for 2 of us and the no claims from our overseas company wasn't very useful. Higher price also due to us being out of work.

michali

I can understand your reluctance to uproot your family again. I hope you get a job soon. It can take awhile. Your arrival sounds a bit like ours! Our son made sure our flat was ready for us with the basics and our daughter took us shopping the next say for more stuff.

My husband had his spouse visa and yet we were still anxious about arriving at the Border. You just never know and there are some horror stories out there!

Hope you find a job soon and that you can avoid having to apply from abroad. Try not to let the stress get to you though!

Foffion

In other countries it is actually possible to enter with a tourist visa and then transform it in a spouse visa. The UK has to make it difficult. I entered Japan with a tourist visa, got married and transformed my tourist visa into a spouse visa (for the price of £25).

mikelincs

If you are a British Citizen otherwise than by descent, then your son is automatically a British Citizen, so no need for him to leave the country and be uprooted from school, it's your wife that will need the visa.

alfista1

Yes thanks. I have his birth registration from the embassy. Just in the process of sending his passport application off.

But we have agreed for him to stay with his mother at this early age especially if its going to be for 2-3 months.