I'm a Canadian moving to England for a year on a student exchange. My spouse lives in England and I've been doing regular trips to Bristol to see them for the past two years (they're a uk citizen). I'm going to Bristol to meet my spouse in June and will spend the summer with them until the start of my university, when we'll move to Leeds. I'm wondering if I will need to go back to Canada in late August/September to get my visa, and then re-enter the country, or if it's possible to stay there as a tourist for two months given that I usually am allowed six months in the country (with the commonwealth act and whatnot), and then my student visa will ''kick in'' in August, meaning I don't have to go back to Canada and can just sort my visa before leaving.

Thank you for any help.