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Jamie, there are a couple of issues here, including one not mentioned by you. That is, if she comes to the UK as a visitor she is not entitled to use the NHS free-of-charge for maternity services ... and you could well be talking about a sizeable sum being payable.

You do not mention when the two of you plan to marry but if that is within the next 6 months the appropriate visa to apply for would be a fiancée visa. That would permit her to come to the UK, and get married to you in the UK, and then apply for a spouse visa in the UK.

As regards how to apply, this webpage gives details, including, sorry, detailing that a journey to Mexico City is necessary.

As regards :-

Can this application be done once already in the UK? ie, can she enter the UK as a "tourist", with me and once there apply for the relevant paper work?

-: no, that would not be possible. The UK Government put in a "no switching" rule as far back as 01.04.03, and it is no longer possible to switch from visitor status to spouse visa in the UK.

If the two of you are definitely going to get married, but have simply not fixed the date, consider getting married in Mexico, and after that marriage she could apply in Mexico for a spouse visa.

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Jamie, no one should ever get married to ease a visa situation but sorry, I can't see any other way of you and your girlfriend proceeding, to get to the UK. You have only lived together for 18 months, and need 2 years living together "in a relationship akin to marriage" before she could apply for a UPV .... unmarried partner visa.

A fiancée visa is specifically for 6 months and really is issued for that the person can get married in the UK during the validity of that visa.

You are British and therefore you possess EU Treaty Rights. It is therefore open to you to live and work in any other EU country, indeed EEA country. As you are not married your girlfriend is not your "family member" but might be your "extended family member". The EU Directive talks about an unmarried couple being in a "durable relationship". The UK interprets that by saying that they need to have lived together for at least 2 years, the same as for a UPV issued under UK immigration law. But there is no guidance to member states about the meaning of "durable relationship" and thus other EU states might interpret it differently.

Given the language situation here, you might think about moving to Spain and exercising your EU Treaty Rights there. But before going out to buy plane tickets you might want to find out how Spain interprets the term "durable relationship", and therefore weigh up the chance of your girlfriend getting a Residence Card to live with you in Spain.

Indeed if you find out how Spain interprets that, could you kindly post. It would be helpful to know.

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Regarding the "in relationship akin to marriage" visa. Is the 2 years physically living together set in stone or would the fact that she's expecting a baby (that will be British) weigh in the equation?

Under UK immigration law it is indeed set in stone. Under the terms of the EU Directive, and what "durable relationship" means, there are many who think that the UKBA position is untenable and that it is clearly possible to have a durable relationship before a couple have lived together for 2 years.

I also have the French nationality

It would have been useful to know that! Picking up on the meaning of durable relationship, one possibility here is for for your girlfriend to apply for an EEA Family Permit, using the fact that you have French nationality. That is, when such application is made, your British passport would not[/b be supplied, but your French passport would.

The point is that the application fee for an EEA Family Permit is .... free! So there is no harm in submitting an application, and seeing how they react. The fact that she is pregnant and the two of you have already lived together for 18 months, might just possibly have an effect, but if not, well no damage done.

As regards possibly moving to France, just using your British nationality, the same EU Directive applies, and again we are faced with how the term "durable relationship" is interpreted ..... this time by France. Again, if you do find out, please do post.

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If the EEA Family Permit route works do you know if she'd be eligible to gain access to the NHS ?

Yes! So going down that route is certainly worth a try.

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Do you recommend that she applies for the "UK Spouse Visa" or the "EEA Family Permit Spouse Visa" ? I have both UK and French nationality.

For reasons that will become clear, I make no recommendation. It really is down to the two of you which way you want to go on this. There are advantages and disadvantages on both routes.

If you go the EEA Family Permit route, that application, and later applications in the UK will all be free. However she would not get PR status ... Permanent Residence .... until after 5 years in the UK, and that would mean she could not apply for Naturalisation as British until after she has got her PR.

Compared to .... if you go the UK immigration rules route .....more expensive ..... at the current time we are talking about £1600 more expensive ...... but she would be entitled to apply for ILR .... indefinite leave to remain ... after just 2 years, and to apply for Naturalisation after 3 years.

So in summary, paying about £1600 brings forward by 2 years when she can apply to be a British Citizen.

If you haven't already decided from the above, can I ask, what are the finances like? You will be working when you get to the UK? Earning roughly how much? And savings? How much will the two of you have in savings when you are applying in Mexico City?

I ask because they are less strict if applying for EEA Family Permit, than for a spouse visa.