Birmingham ballet teacher’s battle for her Brazilian husband to move to the UK

A Birmingham ballet tutor has told of her battle for her Brazilian husband to be allowed into the UK.

Mum Karis Scarlette, who teaches at FABRIC -previously DanceXchange - in Birmingham city centre, was left heartbroken after she and her husband Crischarleson Borges were told by the Home Office that he would not be allowed to come to the country.

The couple, who were married in London in 2021, have a 10-month-old daughter, Allegra, who hasn’t seen her father since July 2022.

However on Friday, Karis received an email from the Home Office saying it was reversing its decision. “We’re still in shock, it’s unbelievable,” said Karis.

Crischarleson, 27, had returned to Brazil in July in order to apply for his visa and after six months of silence from the Home Office, his visa was then rejected based on financial grounds.

“The Home Office recognised that we are in a legitimate marriage,” Karis told LondonWorld at the time of the decision. “They recognised his paternity over Allegra but because we don’t have enough money in the bank at the moment to meet their minimum financial requirements they have denied his visa. We were so unprepared for that as one of the options, we’re married and we have a daughter who is a British citizen.”

The couple met four years ago in Bahia, northeast Brazil, when Karis was working as an artist in residence at a hotel there. “He was working in the hotel so we met there serendipitously,” she said. “We had a long distance relationship where we flew back and forth between Brazil and England.”

After the couple were married it took a while for them to decide where they wanted to live. “We went to live in Brazil and that’s where I got pregnant, and then I realised that I didn’t want to be in Brazil while I was pregnant so I came back to England,” she said.

“He came with me on a visitor visa till Allegra was born and then we decided to apply for his visa to stay here. In order to apply, he needed to go back to Brazil and that’s the last time we’ve seen him as the visa was declined about a month ago.”

Karis, who is currently on maternity leave, has her own company Karis Scarlette Ltd, where she teaches adult ballet classes and runs ballet retreats in London, and all over Europe - while also teaching ballet classes in Birmingham.

“I have an established business here in the UK, which when I’m working to full capacity earns me a good salary,” she said. “If we lived in Brazil I wouldn’t have any earning potential so we would be living in poverty on my husband’s salary.

After his visa was first rejected Karis set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds for a lawyer to appeal their case. “We submitted our appeal to the Home Office as they had violated our human rights, particularly the rights of Allegra as she has the right to both parents.”

Since their successful appeal the couple are overjoyed. Karis said she was keen to share her story to “serve as inspiration to others in the same position”.

A Home Office spokesperson said:“Our immigration system is tailored to work in the UK’s national interests. All spousal visa applications are assessed against the immigration rules and based on the evidence provided.”