# How to help my nephews?



## ken1414

I will keep this brief but was interested on any views. I know very little of Brazil so forgive me if my knowledge of Brazil is limited and may be wrong!

My brother, 50 a UK citizen, married a Brazilian lady and lives in Brazil. They have children 10 and two years old. I guess he has lived in Brazil for 12 years.

His life has been a bit of a disaster and he has mountains of debt in UK and Brazil.

He works offshore and is away for long periods, however his failing health means this is not likely to continue for much longer. He tells me his job prospects in Brazil aren't great.

Recently his youngest was taken into care, whilst he was working overseas, as his wife wasn't looking after them properly, after someone informed authorities. Remains in care currently.

His wife is bipolar and not well much of the time it seems. Spends all their cash, and more, and is often AWOL.

My gut feeling is that he should return to UK as life isn't going to be great for my nephews in Brazil if he has no work and lots of debt. He says his wife won't agree and it simply isn't possible?

Even if they get the kid back from care unless their home situation improves dramatically I see it likely who ever informed authorities will do so again and they will be back in care if they are released by court.

If he stops working overseas to look after kids he will have no income. Is their a welfare state as in the UK? Will the kids get an education/medical care etc if he can't pay for it?

Am I right to have such concerns for his family in Brazil or am I just making assumptions about life in Brazil for those out of work/on a very low income?



My main questions relate to : 

1. How likely is it in Brazil that the courts there would release the kid from care if he said he was moving back to UK where welfare state would allow him to support his family? Could be with or without his wife, but currently more likely she will refused to move? He insists that he has no rights as kids will go with his wife but is this really the case. In UK could get the mother classified as "unfit" and custody goes to father but does similar situation apply in Brazil.

2. I assume he has the right to return to the UK. Can his wife return with him? Can his kids come with him? Will they qualify for UK benefits?

3. He has significant debts in UK which could probably be dealt with by an IVA in the UK, as he will have a low income. Will Brazilian banks chase him for money in UK? He is unlikely to have much of an income initially in the UK if he is looking after kids. Can Brazilian authorties extradite him from UK for no payment of debts or is a civil legal matter as in UK.


Assuming that returning to the UK is viable any suggestion on lawyers etc to deal with the Brazilian courts? My brothers attempts have been a disaster to date , and obviously I have no contacts in Brazil on what would be needed from the legal side. 

His parents would fund any legal fees if their is a genuine prospect of getting their grandchildren out of the current mess and back to UK where they feel they will have a better chance in life. 

The alternative seems to be to allow the kids to remain in care, which upsets my parents greatly, but this might be a better long term option for the kids then getting them out of care to live back with the parents in Brazil?

Thks for any assistance/views.

P.S. My parents and myself have never lived abroad so no idea where to start in helping him sort this mess out.


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## hm80241

Indeed very complex situation. Sorry to hear that I hope the family gets thru this. 
I hope this note still comes in a good timing.

Here are my comments on your questions:

A. for Q1:
Being a Brazilian I can foresight a bit of a challenge. For sure he does have rights over the kids. However by law mother has total rights to stay with kids in case of separation or divorce. The father can try with help of good attorney fight on court to stay with kids but this “battle” usually takes a considerable time and money. Apparently on this case the mother’s health situation is that much good and is compromising the kids’ life that could be the gap needed for the attorney to explore and have the paternity rights granted to the father. 

A. for Q2:
Yes he has rights to return to UK. Wife and Kids can go with him. Since he married with a Brazilian person both wife and children can claim dual-nationality. There is a paper work that they will need to go thru with the embassies (Brazil and UK) in order to obtain that, but it is possible for sure. As far as rights goes, I can’t speak to that, but the embassy can confirm that for you.

A. for Q3:
Money situations are always complicated since there are many variables that I honestly don’t know. It will depend on the kind of debits he has here in Brazil. I’ve seen many times foreigner people being arrested due the kind of the debit sounded to authorities like they were escaping. 
One thing I know for sure is in Brazil, your debits can be re-negotiated so it fits in your income. Usually companies are open for that and are the most recommendable way. 
I don’t think authorities can extradite him from UK for no payment. 

A. for Q5:
My recommendation for you on this case is to look for international attorney in UK and have them managing the situation. This would be your best option given the fact your lack of reliable contacts in Brazil. It will cost more, but it is based in your country and will facilitate your meetings and clarifications.

A. for Q6:
For sure won’t be good for kids to remain in care. Although they work hard to grant kids a positive life, their future will be limited due the resources. I don’t know all the background on this family history so I can't take sides. My recommendation would be fight to bring your brother and kids to return for UK. 

Good luck and best regards.


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## Bevdeforges

I'll admit to knowing nothing about the law in Brazil, but there are a few "international" issues here and British ones as well.

There is a big international treaty that requires the consent of both the mother and the father if one of them wants to take a child out of the country (even just to visit). It's a huge issue, as there have been several notorious cases where a parent has taken a child to his or her home country and then refused to return. Proceed with extreme caution.

Contrary to what your other response says, there is no "automatic" right for the Brazilian wife to go to Britain with her British husband. (And she won't be able to get British citizenship until she has lived for several years in the UK legally.) To obtain a spouse visa for the wife, the British spouse has to prove adequate resources (i.e. a certain minimum income) and have an adequate place to live on their return to the UK. You can get more details on this either in the British section of his forum or here: https://www.gov.uk/join-family-in-uk/eligibility

Not sure if there is anything the UK Consulate in Brazil can do for your brother, but you may want to take a look at the Consulate website or suggest to you brother that he contact the UK consulate for help or further information.
Cheers,
Bev


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## ken1414

THks for the replies. Am chasing up a few options, but as you might expect no easy answers!


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