Have I ruined my chances because I'm an idiot, advice needed

[messedup]

I'm a New Zealand citizen who entered the UK a couple of years ago on a Tier 5 Youth Mobility Visa.

My wife is a UK citizen, we have been married for just over four years.

I recently applied for an extension of stay, via FLR(M). I just received back my application which has been declined. The reason given was that my Youth Mobility Visa had expired
I have since discovered that the visa doesn't start from the date of entry, as I wrongly assumed, but instead starts from the date of issue. This meant that my visa had expired 10 days prior to my application being received, and I had wrongly assumed that my visa was valid for an additional two weeks, I know, I'm an idiot

To make matters worse I had intended to apply for entry clearance as a spouse while I was back in New Zealand earlier this year, but due to the earthquakes in Christchurch the biometrics centre was closed, and we decided it would be to much hassle to travel to Wellington to have the biometrics done, absolutely kicking myself over that decision now

My passports were retained by immigration, I rung my caseworker as instructed in the notice of decision I received, but was told that as they had not received my paperwork yet I would have to ring back next week.

Having done some brief research, it seems that the best course of action is for me to return to NZ to apply for entry clearance, does anyone know if there any other options available to me ?

Obviously I'm extremely worried that as I'm now illegally in the UK, this will hinder any future visa applications. We've purchased a house here, enjoy living here, and as my hometown was recently devastated by earthquakes we didn't envisage moving back there for at least several years.

Just to top things off I'm right in the middle of some major renovations to our house, replacing Spam, bathroom, heating system etc. Does anyone know how long I can remain in the UK, I hate the thought of having to leave my wife to live in the house in the condition it's in at the moment. And if it turns out that I can't return to the UK, due to illegally overstaying, and we have to sell up here, we stand to lose a considerable amount of money as the house is currently in an unmortgageable state.

Am I right to be concerned ? please, please, please tell me I haven't messed things up for good.

Sorry about the rather long-winded post, but as you can imagine I'm rather terrified that I've managed to mess up our plans for the future

Any advice would be gratefully received

[Lucapooka]

The best option would be an application for entry clearance in NZ. You might consider staying in the UK and claiming your right to a family life but a short marriage and no children may be difficult. Even if you did win this, it would be discretionary leave for six years before you could apply for permanent settlement, weighed against two years leading to settlement if you enter the UK with spouse-settlement visa. Good luck!

Periods of overstay in the UK are generally waived from a ban if applying for another visa in a settlement category, but that does not mean you should be complacent as it will make your waiting period in NZ longer while they make mandatory checks on the footprin you left in the UK. Are you aggravating the fact that you are overstaying with other activity on this list?

[messedup]

Thanks for the reply and the link Lucapooka

Thankfully I'm currently taking some time off work to do some work on the house, so currently none of the aggravating circumstances apply to myself. It's also a great weight off my mind knowing that I'm still able to apply for a spouse settlement visa.

I don't suppose anyone out there would be able to provide some sort of idea as to how long I'll be able to remain in the UK for. I've just been checking out airfares, and because the rugby world cup is currently being played out in New Zealand the airfares are horrendous.

[Lucapooka]

Some overstayers remain for very long periods so it's not a tangible amount of time.