Some advice would be welcome :)

[unforgiven]

Hopefully this is in the right place.

I met my partner a year ago, and we spent time talking, and met up a few times a month, when we could, with her staying for a week when she could. She is from the US, and I am from the UK. She then came to stay with me and my girls for six months, and had already overstayed her visa by this point.

We had decided that it was time to do something about it, and so she went back to the US on her own accord, and nothing was said, or checked, or anything at the airport, they just looked at her picture and let her go. She didn't do anything to get herself into trouble and didn't work illegally, or at all, just looked after my girls when I was at work.

She has now gone back to the US, and we are trying to research our next plan of action.

We are both desperate for her come back here, I cant leave to go there because of my girls, and she has far less to give up there.

We have spent a lot of time finding out what our next moves are. We are thinking of me going to visit her and get married in a civil partnership, spend a week or so together, and then apply for her to come here and join me on a spouse visa.

We have pictures of myself with her, and her with my girls, and our friends all know we are in a relationship. We have emails that we have sent each other, and should have a record of Skype calls to each other, ranging from one hour, to 8 hours.

The thing is though, I am currently on Income Support, but work fours a week currently, and looking to come of that and work part time (need to work part time as I cant afford childcare full time for two children, and my youngest has behavioural problems, and I often have to go up to the school and for appointments), where I work, I have the option to go weekday as there is a high turn over of staff.

I supported her well enough on Income Support for the time she was here, I live cheaply anyway, and have a LA flat, which has a lowish rent on, and I currently don't pay that, but when I work more hours, I will be paying approx half. I have done a budget of how much I will have coming in and going out on the part time wages, and would actually have more with her here, as I wouldn't be paying childcare costs, and would have approx £200 a month left over. Everything I have read says that I would still be able to claim HB, CTB, CTC, WTC and Child benefit, as I would be anyway, as long as I declare her on the forms, but that she wouldn't get any allowances. Would it be a problem that most of my income is made up like that?

I have no one that can sponsor her, I have no contact with my family at all, would that be a problem?

[Casa]

You would need to show that you have a minimum of £105.95 remaining weekly as a couple + £62.23 (weekly) for each child after paying rent/council tax and any loan repayments. The Government intend to increase the minimum income level required if the new proposals are implemented.

[unforgiven]

Thanks for the reply.

Can those amounts include the tax credits I would receive each week?

[SoHopeful]

Yes, your weekly/monthly wage can include tax credits. Use a tax credits calculator to look at what you would be entitled to on particular salary.

[unforgiven]

That is brilliant, I used the entitledto calculator.

Thank you.