Fiance or spouse visa?

[haz2010]

Hi there, this is my first time writing on here and I am really hoping I can get some help / advice from someone.

I am a british citizen living in London and my partner is ghanaian living in Spain with spanish residency. We have a son together who was born in the UK and is now 14 months old.

My fiance and I met in Spain in January 2008 and I travelled to and from Spain to London to visit him every month until April 2008 when I moved in with him in Spain. We lived together until September 2008 at which time I moved back to the UK to work and was pregnant with our son. We planned that my fiance would apply for a visitors visa to the UK to be with me at the birth of our son, he would then return to work in Spain and shortly after we would apply for a fiance visa for him.

His visitors visa was refused - which in hindsight was partly due to my naivety as I thought just giving them the documents they asked for would be enough - I now know better.

We were looking to now apply for a spouse visa after getting married in Spain in a few months time but it is looking like it may take longer than this and I am desperate for us to all be together. I would go back to live in Spain but my fiance works seven nights a week and I know very few people in Spain and find it very lonely, whilst he sleeps in the day and I have all my family in the UK. I have also been advised by an immigration lawyer that if we want to settle together in the UK then I should be seen to be making a home for us here otherwise they will see no reason why we shouldn't go and live in Spain.

My son and I are living with my parents and there is plenty of space here also for my fiance. I am working but only part time as I do not want my son to have to go into full day care. I have a full time job waiting for me from September 2010 and was hoping my fiance would be here to care for our son whilst I work until he is old enough to come to the nursery school where I work next March. My son and I are currently flying out to Spain every two months so we can all see each other.

Is it better to apply as a married couple rather than as fiances. We don't mind when or where we get married.

Also, does anyone know if we have to address all the reasons given for his refusal of his visitors visa, which included reasons regarding overstaying in another country but not in the UK.

We have become completely exasperated by the situation and don't know what to do next for the quickest result.

Any help would be so very greatly appreciated and sorry for such a long message.