illegal immigrant married to a uk citizen[got kids 2gether]

[rasjooj]

please help me,i don't know what to do.HERE IS MY STORY..

i am zimbabwean and I came to england in july 2001.before i came i had paid my college fees to a recognised institute in london.the home office took my passport and they still have it to this day.i was refused a week after i came so i had a solicitor to fight my case bacause i had come to study.my removal was delayed as the lawyer asked for extension of my stay.home office gave me 2 months to prepare the case with my lawyer.
my college was starting the beggining of sep 2001 so my lawyer recomended i should attend so i did.i was at the college for a month when i received a letter of removal from home office which means i had to get my refund.
i absconded and went to leave in surrey.i meet a britsh girl and we started dating.in sep 2002 the police came to my flat looking for someone who used to live there,and because i had no passport to prove who i was they took me to the police station.i told them who i was then they checked with immigration.the immigration told the police to keep hold of me bacause they were looking for me.
the immigration came and took me to heathrow terminal one and issued me with deportation papers for the next flight to zimbabwe.
i told them that if i went back,iwas going to be killed as i was an mdc youth.they then took me to a detention centre for fast track evaluation of my asylum claim.i was given a lawyer to represent me.after a week they ruled that they could not find any reason why i should not go back.i was given a chance to appeal the decision.
i was then released to go back to my flat and the next court date was put in place.me and my british girlfrind went to court in november 2002 and in a couple of weeks,i got a phone call from my represantatives telling me that i was granted indefinate leave to remain BUT i was also told the home office might appeal the decision.to my shock ,they appealled.
my case was then sent to the tribunal.in november 2002 my girlfriend got pregnant and in february 2003,she miscarried and it was another blow to my teeth.
i went to the tribunal court in july 2003 and the adjudicator ruled that the case be taken back to the lower court where it had been before.in sep 2003 i got married to my girlfriend in surrey and in october 2003 i went to represantatives to give more evidence and they told me the next court date was november 2003.
i felt that if i lose then my new marriage would be broken so i came to a conclusion of moving up north [absconding again].it was a hard decision but i did it.
we went up north and by the end of 2003 she got pregnant and we had a son in august 2004 and she got pregnant again and had another son in july 2005.
now my sons are 4 and 3 and started school and nursery respectively.all this time i had not worked but now i feel that i need to support my family finacially.from the time they were born till now i was mostly their carer as my wife was working.
now,please tell me how i am gonna get out of this.
TO BE FRANK I AM TIRED OF BEING AN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT.

[Frontier Mole]

Do you know if your asylum appeal was ever heard? I imagine not as you absconded.

You have a good case based on your marriage, children and your wife being able to support your family unit.

Does she receive any state benefits except for child allowance?

Have you heard of the legal case called Chikwamba? Have a read if you have not done so already. I think you have a good case for the grant of an in country spouse visa. The main problem will be your absconding, which given your two obvious occurrences is more than likely to be your biggest stumbling block.

[rasjooj]

thanks for the reply.i went to see the people who represented me a week ago and they told me that the home office did not grant me asylum,so i was refused.
my wife get child benefit and nothing else as she earn £30 000 a year from her job.
i have read the chikwamba case and realised she won on basis of human rights article 8.my case is a bit similar though i have a history of absconding so i dont know what they will say about that.i am going to see a solicitor on friday to discuss the case we have to present to the home office.what are the chances they will send me back to apply for entry from zimbabwe?

[John]

my wife get child benefit and nothing else as she earn £30 000 a year from her job.

Why not? Why aren't the two of you jointly claiming Tax Credits? On the basis of what you post such a claim will produce £545 per year ... the so-called family element.

The application for a spouse visa? Stick with it! Don't go back to Zimbabwe ... the Chikwamba case is clearly of help to you.

[rasjooj]

thanks,we tried to get working tax credit some few years back but because i do not have an NI number and obviosly not working ,they said it was impossible to do it as a couple.
as for applying,i am going to do that on human rights basis and hopefully they wont sent me back.
what are the requirement i need to put in place for the application?

[John]

The solution to that is to apply again, and on the application form, where it asks for your NI number, enter something like "Not yet issued".

This should provoke the procedure to get a NI number issued to you. The fact that you currently do not have a right to work is irrelevant. It is simply not the case that a person having a NI number gives that person the right to work. Indeed merely having an NI number has never, by itself, given a person the right to work.

You are entitled to an NI number because you are making a claim for benefits, and indeed in view of reg 3(2) Tax Credits (Immigration) Regulations 2003, as reinforced by para 6B of the Immigration Rules, you and your wife are jointly entitled to claim Tax Credits.

Do not accept no for an answer! Go for it!

[rasjooj]

thanks so much john,my wife just called and asked about the working tax credit for couples and they told her that ,yes she is entitled and they are sending the form for application.
thank you

[John]

Given that she is earning, you tell us, £30000 pa, there is no entitlement to Working Tax Credit, but there is an entitlement to Child Tax Credit, but only to the extent of the "family element" ...... £545 pa.

In respect of a couple living together the claim must be in joint names.