I'm just about to submit the UK settlement visa application for my wife and step son and have the following question:

How long from the date of issue does my wife have to use the Visa (i.e. enter the UK)? For example, assuming my wife gets her Visa in Dec 09. can she then finally come to the UK in say June or July 10? Or does she have to use the Visa within say one month of it being issued?

Settlement visas are valid for 27 months from the date of issue. They can enter anytime during the validity of the visa. However it must be stressed that if they fail to complete 24 months residency in the UK they will not be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain and you will have to pay an extra fee for further leave to remain to enable them to complete the 24 month requirement and then pay again for ILR. It is therefore obviously best to enter the UK within 3 months of the date of issue, however this is not always practical for many different reasons.

You can also ask for the start date of the visa to be deferred for up to 3 months; but must do so in writing when submitting the initial application.

Doing this would effectively give them up to 6 months from the visa being issued to first enter the UK.

If you do this, check the visas' start date immediately; such requests are sometimes overlooked and the mistake cannot be rectified later.

Thanks OrchidofSiam & 7by7!! That answers my question perfectly.

Cheers,