Entry Clearance

I cannot seem to find an answer to this anywhere.  Once I get my Spousal Visa from NYC (doing it by mail and fasttrack online) how long do I have to leave the USA and enter the  UK?

I know it can't be days..but is it months?  How long is it? :-)

Thanks!

There is no time limit, actually.  

The visa is good for 2 years, and there are a number of days of those 2 years you need to be present in the UK to get your ILR, but as far as I know, there is no limit to how long you take to get to the UK.

So I should go ahead and apply and have it in hand even if we don't actaully move until July or August?

I think you can request them to post date it.  Explain that you're not leaving until a few months from now or whatever.

What happens if they issue the Spouse Visa, which is for 2 years, and then it takes you a year to move?  Do you still get to apply for ILR a year later, or do you have to wait 2 years from when you entered?  And then what about the expiry date on the 2 years?

I'm confusing myself, now...sorry vnice!  

Help a newbie, what's an ILR again?  

ILR is Indefinite Leave to Remain and it's what you get from the Home Office in the UK just before the expiry of either your FLR (Further Leave to Remain) or Spouse Visa.

Tanks!  

I think you can request them to post date it.  Explain that you're not leaving until a few months from now or whatever.

What happens if they issue the Spouse Visa, which is for 2 years, and then it takes you a year to move?  Do you still get to apply for ILR a year later, or do you have to wait 2 years from when you entered?  And then what about the expiry date on the 2 years?

I'm confusing myself, now...sorry vnice!  

Well according to the Home Office and the British Consulate both, everything revolves around the expiry date and if I'm not mistaken it suggests somewhere on the Consulate website under Visas that you have a date in mind on when you intend to move BEFORE you apply for the visa in order to fully utilize the two years, so it appears that if your expiry date is 24 months from issuance and you don't arrive until 8 months later then you have roughly 5 weeks before the 16th month that you've been there to apply for ILR.

okay so I can apply now with no problems knowing that I will be in the UK by then end of the summer?

Yeah you could, just keep in mind that if it's issued say in March, it will be valid until March 2006. It's really not a problem if you know that your'e definitely getting there before it expires. Whether your'e here or there it still expires in March 2006 and you'll have to apply for ILR before that. From what I understand I don't think you can apply for ILR until roughly 5 weeks before the expiry date but maybe someone else here knows more about that aspect of it.

slight addendum: I have been told that if you arrive MORE than 3 months from the issuance date then British Immigration MAY ask if the situation by which it was issued has changed any, IE: living arraingements, etc, but who knows.. I'm gonna be in the same boat so only time will tell