Vicjustice:
You've asked two questions, one is about your chance; and the other is what to do to avoid your application being refused.
To this I'd say first of all that even your wife's application can not be guaranteed, and by this, I'd say that your chance is extremely low at this stage since you apparently have no serious thing to do in the UK: the only thing that would qualify you for a visa is your relationship, and to meet that qualification, your wife will have to meet the requirements.
To the second question, I'd say, things are easier when done orderly.

drillskillz: My wife has been given a 5 year visa already but am yet to put forward my application.
Does it make sense to state 'unemployed'?
will that not reduce my chances?

Vicjustice: If you're applying for a spouse visa, it won't be a problem if you're unemployed provided your wife is employed, that she maintains a steady employment, that her income exceeds the allowable limit and that she is a habitual resident in the UK.
But knowing that your wife has not yet attained to any of these, I don't see how you can manage to get a visa on the basis of your relationship

whytegirl: @ drillskillz,
Yes, you are allowed to apply as the spouse of a student studying for 12 months or more or more than 6months on a full govt scholarship.
Your wife apparently falls under both categories. You could even have applied at the same time as her.
I had a good number of colleagues who did this with a high success rate and yes, most of the wives were unemployed and came to stay full time with them. I think your visa will allow you work for a limited time, co they were also all employed mostly in menial jobs around school.You will fill a form for 'dependant of an immigrant on a point based system' or something like that.

As for maintenance fee, if I remember correctly, your wife will need to show an addditional £600 per month you are applying to live there with her, to a maximum of 9 months, meaning if you want to stay till for 6 months she should have £3600, but if your applying for a visa to stay till the end of her PhD, a minimum of £5400 should be in her account, for 28 days before applying. Or a letter from ptdf covering all your expenses, along with hers. If not, start sourcing for the money elsewhere, my friends would borrow around and repay later.

My info may be outdated and incomplete so go and verify the process on the ukba website and ask your wife to find out from her colleagues when she gets there, i'm very sure a few married phd students already schooling would have gone through the process. Just get all your facts right BEFORE you apply.

All the best.

Tofunmi2: Its a pleasure to join d forum.
I applied late for a church conference in uk. 2 weeks b4 d date.
Was hoping my visa would be ready -n 15 days but up till now, more than 6 weeks.
Uk embassy in pretora, south africa has not finalize, say they are conducting checks on my application.

I am worried that I am already behind time.
Please advice.

kaykad: [size=18pt][/size]PLEASE HOUSE WHERE DO I FILL THE ONLINE APPLICATION FORM FOR UK VISSA NEED YOUR HELP[b]PLEASE HOUSE WHERE DO I FILL THE ONLINE APPLICATION FORM FOR UK VISSA NEED YOUR HELP[/b]PLEASE HOUSE WHERE DO I FILL THE ONLINE APPLICATION FORM FOR UK VISSA NEED YOUR HELP

Tofunmi2: Its a pleasure to join d forum.
I applied late for a church conference in uk. 2 weeks b4 d date.
Was hoping my visa would be ready -n 15 days but up till now, more than 6 weeks.
Uk embassy in pretora, south africa has not finalize, say they are conducting checks on my application.

I am worried that I am already behind time.
Please advice.

Vicjustice:
Are you still hoping for a positive outcome?

brownee06: Hi guys,

I will be going for my graduation, so I will just b staying in the Uk for one week. I have put my brothers accomodation which is a school accomodation and it is just a room. From the address it is obvious that it is a one room school accomodation. Will they see this as a problem

worry 359:
Female (Sister) staying in single room with man could be big wahalla!!!
You should book hotel room for your stay.
It could be refusal and waste of money!

brownee06: Hi guys,

I will be going for my graduation, so I will just b staying in the Uk for one week. I have put my brothers accomodation which is a school accomodation and it is just a room. From the address it is obvious that it is a one room school accomodation. Will they see this as a problem

brownee06:

Really?? Not even ur own brother. Same surname oh. Abi do I have to provide my birth certificate to prove it kwanu. My problem is the idea of two Pple in one room, Weda males or females

kclexa: If you are specifically going for your graduation, then staying with you brother or sister is not a problem. All you need to do is present evidence of accommodation payment receipt and a letter from your brother/sister that he/she will be accommodating you for the period.

Do not panic, it would have been a different ball game if you were going for a friend's graduation. But you must ensure the uni does not have restrictions on squatting, in which case I would advice you show funds that can cover hotel bills and specify you will be staying in an hotel.
Remember you are not required to pay for accommodation until you are granted visa, same as flight but show evidence of enough funds.

kim k's girl:
I was refused a general vistor visa on stupid grounds, the ECO looked for a fault and decided to pour it on my finances like they usually do, saying they don't think the financial circumstances presented by me is true therefore I can't fund my holiday to the UK and also I can't take money from mu business account to fund a personal trip, I make my money so what's their problem, i've called my immigration lawyer and he is doing the review on my behalf. I hope the decision is overturned and I get the visa

justwise:

The ECO is right, you don't use business money for foreign leisure trip. Yes you made your money but its their business because its their country.

kim k's girl:
so what do you suggest I do now because the lawyer can't know it all

justwise:

You will be wasting your money getting a lawyer.

Sort your finance out, separate your business account from personal current account, pay tax on your business earnings and get tax certificate

kim k's girl:
I added my tax clearance certificate I always pay my tax! I just think the ECO thinks the money in my account doesn't belong to me, because he just crowned everything up by saying he doesn't think my financial circumstances are as stated. Which is really disheartening, i'm sure my Lawyer can make a case out of it hopefully because my business is a venture not Limited so I can spend from the account, there is no part of the immigration Law that says so, and it's just a reason so it's a straight forward case

kim k's girl:
I was refused a general vistor visa on stupid grounds, the ECO looked for a fault and decided to pour it on my finances like they usually do, saying they don't think the financial circumstances presented by me is true therefore I can't fund my holiday to the UK and also I can't take money from mu business account to fund a personal trip, I make my money so what's their problem, i've called my immigration lawyer and he is doing the review on my behalf. I hope the decision is overturned and I get the visa

kim k's girl:
I added my tax clearance certificate I always pay my tax! I just think the ECO thinks the money in my account doesn't belong to me, because he just crowned everything up by saying he doesn't think my financial circumstances are as stated. Which is really disheartening, i'm sure my Lawyer can make a case out of it hopefully because my business is a venture not Limited so I can spend from the account, there is no part of the immigration Law that says so, and it's just a reason so it's a straight forward case