Where are you know?
Aerofoil,
I notice your location is still London. Two questions,
Have you actually applied for a visa yet? If yes which one? I did read your posts but was a little unsure.
If your not actually married but are intending to be married then the visa's already discussed are the one's you should look into. If you aren't married or intending to marry soon then you must have co-hobitated for the last 12 MONTHS. You must also have a rental agreement, phone, power bill and joint band accounts to back this up. If you don't have proof you won't get a visa.
There is a way around this. It's called a holiday working visa. It's valid for 12 months and if you live together for the 12 months or part there of which you are deficient, then you can apply for temporary residency. Temp residants have no work restrictions. Holiday work visa people have to change jobs every 12 weeks.
If you want to PM me feel free as I would be happy to help.