UK Partner or Spouse Visa

Joining a British or settled partner in the UK depends on which of a small number of legal relationship categories you actually fit — and Brazilian relationship terms don't always map onto them the way people expect. We work out the right category with you before building the evidence.

Which UK category matches your relationship

UK immigration law recognises a handful of relationship categories, and where a Brazilian relationship status sits among them isn't always obvious. Casamento — a legal marriage, in the UK or recognised from abroad — maps directly onto the 'spouse' category, the most straightforward to evidence. União estável, Brazil's formally registered stable-union status, does not automatically count as marriage for UK purposes; it functions as strong supporting evidence toward the UK's 'unmarried partner' category, which itself requires proof of at least two years living together in a relationship like a marriage or civil partnership — the registration helps establish that, but the Home Office still wants to see the cohabitation itself documented. Namoro — dating, without living together — does not meet either category on its own; it only becomes relevant once it has developed into the two years of cohabitation the unmarried-partner route requires. Getting this categorisation wrong at the outset is one of the most common ways an otherwise genuine relationship gets an avoidable refusal.

The financial requirement

The UK sponsor (or, in some cases, the couple's combined income) generally needs to show a minimum annual income — a threshold the Home Office reviews periodically rather than fixing indefinitely — and this is calculated before a single form is filled in, not discovered partway through. Where income alone doesn't clear the bar, cash savings held for a set period can be used instead of or alongside it; a smaller number of longstanding couples who applied before an April 2024 rule change remain on an older, lower threshold for their extensions. We calculate which threshold actually applies to your case and, where income falls short, whether savings can close the gap, before quoting you a cost to proceed.

Building the evidence

Whichever category applies, the Home Office wants to see a genuine, ongoing relationship demonstrated through more than a marriage or union certificate alone: joint finances, shared correspondence and travel history, evidence of visits during any period apart, and statements from people who know the relationship is real. We help assemble this as a coherent bundle rather than a folder of unconnected documents, since a caseworker reading a weak bundle can doubt a genuine relationship just as easily as a fabricated one.

Children and dependants

Dependent children under 18 can usually apply alongside the main applicant, and a genuine, ongoing parental relationship with a British or settled child in the UK can sometimes support an application even where other requirements are borderline. We assess this alongside the main relationship category, not as an afterthought.

How we help

We start by identifying which relationship category genuinely fits your situation and whether the financial requirement is met, honestly, before any fee changes hands. If the case is strong, we build the evidence bundle and submit the application; if it's refused, we assess whether an appeal or a stronger reapplication is the better path forward for your specific circumstances.

Cost range: From £1,800, reflecting the larger evidence bundle relationship-based applications require (excludes the Home Office fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge).
Processing timeline: Applications made from outside the UK are typically decided within 12 weeks of a complete submission; applications made from inside the UK, such as switching or extending, within 8 weeks. A priority service is sometimes available for an extra fee.
If refused or appealing: Because this route is assessed under human-rights law, a refusal usually carries a right of appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) — a genuinely different remedy from most other visa categories — as well as the option of reapplying with stronger evidence.