I think it can vary.

I had a lot of strange visits after my Dad died before a proper strong message came through.

The morning he died and I was told, I had a very strong urge just to go about my day as normal. I went in to town to try and forget what had happened. When I boarded the bus, I swear I saw my Dads eyes looking back at me through the driver. It was the same state he'd given me when he had been dying days before. I saw it clear as day.

After that, about 2 months later,I had a horrendous dream where his spirit visited but where we were reliving the days just before his death. Insteado of him dying of cancer, he thought he had committed suicide and he was very stressed and upset about it.

That really shook me up.

Then about 3 months later, I was walking through a park with a medium friend (this is before I myself started to sense) and she suddeny just said a very strong man with a thick accent had grabbed her arm and told her to stop because he had messages for me. I knew at that moment 100% that he was there with me in spirit and I'll never forget that day. It changed my life. She told me things that there was nobody else on this planet apart from my Dad, who could have known.

I feel it took him about 3 months to accept his death and learn to work as a spirit though I also believe there is no concept of time and it simply takes as long as it takes.

I also had a friend who committed suicide and nobody had any idea why. No note, or anything. He only came back to visit me twice, once about 5 months after his death when he came in a dream and just gave a hug and told me he was ok now, and then again about 2 months ago, he passed through in a reading I was doing for someone else - he was just saying hey :)