My marriage blog - live

Hello pyrotech9,

On behalf of everybody at Expat-blog welcome on board. I hope your experience here will be both enjoyable and informative.

Good to see that you've got all you Is dotted and Ts crossed. Not common at all, I usually end up being the official hand-holder for most of the members in your shoes. Looks like you've been doing your homework and have everything well under control.

If there is anything at all you need, just ask on the forum. Congratulations and Best Wishes to your soon-to-be bride!

Cheers,
William James Woodward, EB Experts Team

I was very fortunate My wife is organized. We had more documents than they wanted. Federal Police visited last week. They said I'm approved for permanency, now we are waiting for the last step.

Following on
I had  non impediment and adoption certificate  stamped by Brazil Consulate in London
Remember you need these to be authorised by the foreign and commonwealth dept first
www.gov.co.uk/get-document-legalised


I also had my passport copied and stamped along with my driving licence which i will use for proof of address

These need to be translated in Brazil.
I am checking if they will use scanned documents and except originals when there, not sure if they will. If not will have to send by secure mail.

Two weeks and counting for my fiancee to have second attempt at the English Exam ready for her spouse visa after we marry.
Some complications
She will need a new passport with her new name after we marry but before applying for spouse Visa


Will update you as we progress and will later give details on spouse visa application and our evidence.

Sworn translators (tradutores juramentados) will only work with translating ORIGINAL documents. They will not translate copies, not even certified copies.

Not quite true
Here is how it went

Firstly i sent all documents i could to a friend in Joao Pessoa
That included  original non impediment document and copies of birth certificate and passport.

These were submitted to book the wedding for the 24th July 2014
I did not need a poet of attorney.

I arrived in Joao Pessoa on 22nd of July and attended the office with my original documents on 23rd.
Because we were having a fotal separation of good, they told me that day  needed to get a document made for this, similar to a pre nup.
I got this for about £25 within the hour.

Next day 24th we got married as planned

Certificate of marriage was to be released the following Tuesday, however i was flying to Sao paulo on Tuesday for submission of document for Visa on Wednesday. A few calls and i had the certificate on Friday.
I then realise i need a translation to english, for visa.
Panic as it takes a week !!!
Few calls, i get it translated for Tuesday picking it up in Sao paulo as i arrive at airport.
With this they translated the scanned document ( wedding certificate) but wanted to see the original when i picked up translated one, just to check it was same.

For the settlement visa
We attended the offices in sao Paulo, i submitted lots of evidence
the system is good and fair, it is designed to protect the UK, if you are in the agreed criteria then you should be fine.
I was told, even paying for priority service it would take minimum of 30 days ( 60+ days without priority)

Evidence submitted
Proof of wedding  (certificate english and portuguese)
Copy of my passport , her original passport
6 months pay slips
2 years P60
Letter from Employer

For accomadation i did not do environment report
I did put in
Mortgage statements
Land registry
Council tax
Title deeds
Photos and description of house with dimensions.
I included 6 months Bank statements
Plus other financial details

We included documents to show communication, to show my time in Brazil with her, this included entry and exit visas in my passport and air tickets.
I also showed she had been with me in UK for 4 months on visitor visa.
I included photos of us together and with my family and friends
My family attended wedding too and i provided porof.
I also included tickets and photos of things we did in UK, like theme parks, air shows, days out etc

A week after submitting our documents her spouse visa (settlement visa) was approved.

To sum it up
In Brazil you can get married, its best if you have a good friend to help you thou
The UK visa process might seem frustrating, but its there to stop abuse.
My advice is
Check you meet criteria
Prove you meet criteria

You need to prove your a real couple in love and not a sham marriage,  for those who are this should be relatively easy, just be honest.
To sponsor your partner, you need to be earning over 18K a year, (please check latest info on gov site)
You need to have worked at least 6 months earning over that amount.
The easier it is for them to verify, the quicker your application will be.

You need to prove you have accommodation, with enough room for yourselves.

So its possible to get married in Brazil and bring your wife ( or partner) home to UK. But its hard work and very stressful. I thought my visa application for my spouse was as good as you can get, but the stress waiting to here is unbearable, With the marriage i did not know it would happen until i said the word ...SIM.
I was even asked if i understand portuguese at the ceremony, i answered  i understand some. Truth is best.

Throughout, keep being polite, ask for help and above all be truthful.
The VISA process is fair, if you meet the criteria and provide relevant proof you will be fine.
Remember the evidence is not quantity, its quality.
If they have questions unanswered in your submission then expect a delay or refusal.
Do not think that you can fool them, they are trained to make assessment on evidence, missing or false evidence will come back to bite you. Better to wait and work on meeting criteria and get it right.

There is 20 years age difference between us, so do not think they will penalise anything like that, they will base it completely on evidence. They just want to be fair.
Good luck to anyone who is genuine and looking to do same process

Just to add, my spouse did her English exam here in UK whilst on Visitior visa, she passed with merit, this is very important in Visa application.