Parents rejoice as Home Office reverses decision to send children back to Brazil

A family is celebrating after the Home Office reversed its decision to send two young children back to Brazil while allowing their parents to remain in the UK.

The Guardian previously reported on the case of Guilherme Serrano, 11, and his brother Luca, eight, who have spent most of their lives in the UK with their mother, Ana Luiza Cabral Gouveia, a senior NHS nurse, and father, Dr Hugo Barbosa, a senior lecturer in computer science at the University of Exeter.

While the parents could live and work legally in the UK, the Home Office sent a letter saying the children had to return to Brazil. The letter warned Guilherme that staying in the UK illegally could lead to him being detained, prosecuted, not being allowed to work or rent and having his driving licence taken away from him.

But following media coverage of the case in the UK and Brazil, intervention by the family’s local MP, Steve Race, and communication with Brazilian diplomats, the Home Office sent another letter agreeing to “exceptionally reconsider” the case and not only allow the initial application, which was rejected, to be varied but also to refund the money for the original application, a fee of approximately £6,000.

Barbosa said: “This was a huge relief for all of us. It has been a very stressful time for the whole family. I picked up Guilherme from school and told him the good news. He ran back to his class and told his friends: ‘I’m not going to have to leave the country now.’

“I have received so many messages of support from so many people. This whole thing has made me feel much more connected to the UK.”

The first Home Office letter stated: “I am satisfied that there are no serious or compelling reasons to grant you settlement. I am satisfied that you could return to Brazil and continue your education in Brazil where you would have the option to attend an English-speaking school.”

The family’s difficulties with the department arose because the parents divorced a couple of years after arriving in the UK. They remain on amicable terms and co-parent 50/50. Gouveia and the children arrived in the UK as dependants on Barbosa’s visa, but after the divorce she secured a new skilled worker visa in 2022.

Barbosa was granted indefinite leave to remain in 2024, something Gouveia is not yet eligible for as she has only been on her current visa since 2022. People on skilled worker visas must wait five years before applying for indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

According to Home Office rules, both parents should be granted settlement at the same time, or be settled or a British citizen, unless one parent has sole responsibility for the upbringing of the children.

Race said: “I’m very pleased that the Home Office has reviewed and acknowledged the nuance of this family case, and has offered a solution that will allow the boys to stay with their parents in the UK. I’m grateful to the [equalities] minister, Seema Malhotra, for personally working with me on this so that we have this positive outcome.”

The Home Office has been approached for comment.