Question from a newbie regarding spousal settlement

Sorry if this has been asked before but I can't seem to get a straight answer from either the British Home Office or the British embassy in N.Y.
My British wife and I (American) were married in the States in August of 2000. In 2004 we decided to move back to Britain. I was issued a Spousal settlement visa upon application in N.Y and it was issued valid from April 2004 until April 2014. The visa states Settlement Husband, Indefinite leave to enter the U.K. It was stamped by British Immigration with the date upon my arrival in July 2004. Can someone please clarify for me what exactly the valid until April of 2014 means? I've been told so many different stories that I'm a bit perplexed by it all and no one seems to be able to tell me if it means the visa itself expires in April 2014 or if I had until April 2014 to implement it? The British embassy in N.Y does'nt answer e-mails when I inquire and the Home Office on this side is vague and frankly no help at all.........could anyone out here give me a simple explanation so I can put this nagging question to rest once and for all? Thanking You in advance for any and all information on the matter.

p.s .....I should clarify that she and I were living together for 18 months before our marraige which meant we were together for over 5 years before the visa was issued.

i would have thought the visa u was given mean that "valid from April 2004 until April 2014" means when u should enter the UK by as in u had between 10 years to enter uk which will then activate ur visa to Indefinite leave to remain when it is being stamped by a IO at the port of entry.

like this one http://www.arts.ac.uk/images/studentser ... t-date.jpg

Secondly if u came to the UK in 2004 u should now be entitled to apply for UK passort as u r married to a UK citizen and have also been on UK soil legally resident for 3 yrs or more

i hope i am right in my answers and expect others to correct me if i am wrong

When does your passport expire? They sometimes put an expiry date that correspods to the expiry of your passport, but that doesn't mean the visa itself is expired.

Passport expires in December of this year which keeps getting pointed out to me by British Immigration whenever I pass through BUT when I inquire from them as to what the meaning of the expiration date of 2014 means exactly they don't seem to be able to give me an answer and refer me to the Home Office. They do say however that I will now be required to carry both passports while entering and leaving the U.K unless I want to pay some extortionate fee to have the visa transferred from my old passport to my new one since it's not done for free anymore........just another way to make a few extra £ I suppose but even at that I'm reluctant to do it UNLESS and UNTIL someone from immigration/Home Office can explain the validity question....if it was'nt so frustrating trying to get a straight answer from either I'd almost find it amusing! ...thus my question being posted here hoping that someone could finally put it to rest for me, it just annoys me that the professionals who's job it is to know the answer to this question can't answer it and pap me off from pillar to post

can someone pls put jake out of this misery as i could have informed him wrongly

Smooth Operator you did'nt give me bad info at all. After further reading on this site it seems that this is not a unique situation....from everything I can read the expiry date refers to the time in which I have to initialize or first use the visa, a little confusing but at least I know now...thanks for trying to help this perplexed Yank, I really appreciate it.

That's what I've read as well. There was a thread with a situation similar to yours but I can't seem to find it. In any case, since you've entered the UK before the expiry, you're good to go. When you renew your passport, you just carry both. Also, just something to think about as Smooth Operator mentioned, since you are married to a British citizen, after three years residence in the UK you are eligible to apply for British citizenship if you so choose.

hey yankeegirl here is the post i think u could be refering to

http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=18744

Thanks to those who responded to my query. This is the answer that I received from the Immigration Office and may be of further help to those who have the same question.

Dear Mr. +++++

Thank you for your enquiry.



If an endorsement in your passport says Indefinite Leave to Enter, you are no longer under immigration control and are not required to apply for any further visas.



The valid 'to and from' dates on the visa is the time period permitted for you to enter in to the UK to activate the visa.



Upon entering into the UK the word 'enter' status changes into 'remain' by the activation of the visa.



If you have a new passport and require the Home Office to transfer your Indefinite Leave to Remain status into that passport you will need to obtain and submit a NTLTOC (No Time Limit) application form.



Application forms are available by calling 0870 241 0645 or from our website on www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk. All details and instructions are included with the form.



Yours sincerely
++++++++++

The website states that it is not necessary to transfer the Settlement visa to your new passport but you are required to carry both if you choose not to spend the £160 in order to do so.