My future wife is Ukrainian and we want to live in the UK.

[Jaydee]

I am British but have been living in Spain for the last 3 years.I met my girlfriend here nearly 2 years ago and we had a son in July this year.Things here are very difficult now and I cant get any work,so Im left with no choice but to go home to England. My girlfriend however is here in Spain illegally.We are hoping to get married here next month and would like to return to the UK shortly afterwards.Ive been struggling to understand the gobbledegook on the Border Agency site and would really appreciate some sound advice.Thank you.

[porkpie]

A very important case called Metock removed the prior legal residence requirement which you may have read about?

You need to look at something called the Surinder Singh route, i'm sure someone here can help. Are you working/jobseeking? This is what's referred to as 'exercising a treaty right'. You can read about Surinder Singh cases within the UKBA website, there is a whole section devoted to it.

Two important questions:

1) do you have documentation relating to your relationship?
2) have you been living together like married partners?

PPie

[Jaydee]

We opened a joint bank account 18 months ago.We are on the electoral roll as living together but only for the last 8 months. When our son was born last July we registered him at the local town hall in my surname with me as the father.Also we have had joint medical insurance fot the last 14 months.Thankyou very much for your reply.

[Casa]

Having lived and married in Spain myself, I believe you will find that you will be unable to marry there if your girlfriend is in the country illegally. The Unmarried Partner visa may be your only option, but you will need proof of the full 2 years living together...UPV's come under even greater scrutiny than spouse visas. You could go down the EU route rather than UK regulations, but you will still need to prove that the relationship has been 'akin to marriage' for 2 years.