If or when  a u UK settlement visa is granted , how long is the activation time . 3 months from date of issue ? anyone know 
thanks 

No unfortunatly the rules changed some time back, once issued the visa has to be used within 30 days, in fact within these 30 days the visa holder has to travel to the UK and collect their Biometric Residence Permit from the nominated Post Office.
That may have been all well and good when applications where being processed in a predictably reasonable time, but your case is a classic example of how unreasonable this policy is.

If the applicant cannot travel in the 30 timeframe they can apply for the visa vingette to be extended, this as with all things associated with the UKVI comes at a price.

interesting ... that changes a few things if my wife gets a visa .
thanks 

 

I gave up on the idea of taking my wife back to the UK - the visa rules for non-EUSSR citizens are too hard. Took her to Oz instead.

On ‎27‎/‎09‎/‎2017 at 12:51 AM, theoldgit said:

in fact within these 30 days the visa holder has to travel to the UK and collect their Biometric Residence Permit from the nominated Post Office.

Sorry to be pedantic, OG, but the BRP must be collected before the 30 days vignette expires, or within 10 days of arrival in the UK; whichever is the later.

 

So even if someone arrives on the last day of their vignette's validity, they still have a further 10 days in which to collect their BRP.