UK Citizen by birth marrying a Brazilian - Fiance Visa or Spouse Visa? Confused!

[jk199490]

A bit of background to make everything clear.

I'm a UK citizen by birth and have always lived in the UK.
My girlfriend is a Brazilian national has been in the UK on a visitor visa.

Her visitor visa expired 3 months ago.

Originally we planned to go to Brazil in August 2020, get married there and then return to the UK after a few months with the hopes of getting a spouse visa.

We've since been told that the longer she overstays the worse it'll look on any application for any visa, which I understand.

A little about me: I'm a freelance software consultant and can work anywhere in the world. All I need is a laptop and an internet connection so spending a significant amount of time in another country is no problem for me.

Having read about the finance visa path and the spouse visa path, there's a couple of things I'm unsure on.

1: If we apply for a finance visa, can I stay with her in Brazil while this is processed?
2: Would it be best given her current overstay status for us to move to Brazil for a period of 12 months or so. Get married and then apply for a spouse visa? I read online that if you leave voluntarily from an overstay, it's no longer held against you after 12 months? Maybe this is only applicable though for visitor visas?

Lastly we had been told that going to Portugal may be a better option. It's an easier path to get residence in Portugal and she's quite happy to live there and so am I. But neither of us are keen on spending the rest of our lives in Brazil.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!

[iwolga]

A bit of background to make everything clear.

I'm a UK citizen by birth and have always lived in the UK.
My girlfriend is a Brazilian national has been in the UK on a visitor visa.

Her visitor visa expired 3 months ago.

Originally we planned to go to Brazil in August 2020, get married there and then return to the UK after a few months with the hopes of getting a spouse visa.

We've since been told that the longer she overstays the worse it'll look on any application for any visa, which I understand.

A little about me: I'm a freelance software consultant and can work anywhere in the world. All I need is a laptop and an internet connection so spending a significant amount of time in another country is no problem for me.

Having read about the finance visa path and the spouse visa path, there's a couple of things I'm unsure on.

1: If we apply for a finance visa, can I stay with her in Brazil while this is processed?
2: Would it be best given her current overstay status for us to move to Brazil for a period of 12 months or so. Get married and then apply for a spouse visa? I read online that if you leave voluntarily from an overstay, it's no longer held against you after 12 months? Maybe this is only applicable though for visitor visas?

Lastly we had been told that going to Portugal may be a better option. It's an easier path to get residence in Portugal and she's quite happy to live there and so am I. But neither of us are keen on spending the rest of our lives in Brazil.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!

The most straightforward thing to do is to go and get married in Brazil. Then apply for spouse visa. Overstay does not affect spouse visa applications.

Do you work for a UK company? I assume you checked financial and other requirements for this visa? Technically, as long as you get your salary in UK and can prove it, you can be with your fiancée or wife while she’s awaiting visa in Brazil.

Portugal can also be an option if you can streamline your salary/ taxation through Portugal. Otherwise you won’t be able to prove that you are exercising your Treaty rights there