Confused about provisional license

I posted this as a reply to a different thread, but the thread is over 120 days old.

Hi,
I finally made it over. I want to get my provisional license, but I'm a bit confused.
From what I understand, I have a spousal visa, which is Limited Leave to Enter.

The requirement according to the DVLA website, I need leave to remain:
Applicants who are not UK citizens or nationals of another EU or EEA country will not be considered normally resident if they:

    do not have leave to remain in the UK, or
    are in the country on a temporary basis without leave to remain either while awaiting a decision to stay in the UK or following a decision refusing such an application.

So do I have leave to remain?

You can get a provisional under a spousal visa.

But just under a spousal visa you are not considered leave to remain- you have to apply for that AFTER the spousal visa period...

Is that not right?

No, any visa that is issued in the UK is called 'leave to remain'. That includes a spousal visa issued in the UK (FLR(M) - Further Leave to Remain, based on Marriage), or a student visa or a work visa issued in the UK.

There are different types of 'leave to remain'.

ILR is indefinite leave to remain, while a spousal visa issued in the UK is limited leave to remain.

The discussion here is whether or not spousal visas issued outside the UK meet the requirement, because they are limited leave to enter, not to remain (as 'remain' means you have to already be living in the UK when the visa is granted).

However, they have the same restrictions/rights as FLR(M) (they are basically the same visa), so I think it's just the wording on the driving website that is confusing.

a Spousal Visa is equivalent to the FLR stage, it's just that you first entered as a spouse instead of a fiancee/proposed civil partner.

I agree it's the wording making this confusing.  You are definitely eligible to get a provisional