Okay, first off, ignore EVERYTHING you have read from 2004. The immigration rules are COMPLETELY different now and even the visas are different.
As a rule of thumb, anything posted more than about 6 months ago is likely to be out of date.
If you are not a US citizen and do not legally live in Australia, you MUST return to the US to apply for your spousal visa.
You cannot qualify for UK citizenship until you have lived in the UK on spousal visas for 5 years and have gained ILR (permanent residence).
So you will need to apply for:
- 2.5 year spousal visa to move to the UK
- 2.5 year FLR(M) visa extension
- ILR after 5 years in the UK
- once you have ILR you may be able to qualify for UK citizenship
I would budget about £10,000 over the next 5 years for visas.
Your spousal visa application process will be:
- research the visa requirements and make sure you meet them all (financial, accommodation and relationship)
- gather up all your supporting documents for the visa
- fly to Australia and get married
- fly back to the US with your supporting documents (mainly from your fiance)
- print and complete VAF4a Appendix 2 form by hand - this is the second half of the application and contains all the questions specific to meeting the spousal visa requirements
- complete the online application form
- submit the online form, pay for the visa and pay for the IHS surcharge and book a biometrics appointment
- attend a biometrics appointment in the US at your nearest USCIS Application Support Center
- after the biometrics appointment, you must mail your application and all your documents to Sheffield, UK for processing. There is an option to purchase priority processing to get the application put to the front of the processing line
- wait for the visa to be issued and returned to you in the US
- move to the UK
See here for more information about this process:
https://www.gov.uk/join-family-in-uk/overviewhttp://www.vfsglobal.co.uk/australia/how_to_apply.htmlDo you meet all the requirements for the visa?
- your UK citizen spouse must meet the UK income requirement of £18,600 per year
- you must also have guaranteed accommodation in the UK to live in with permission from the homeowner
- your relationship must be genuine and you need to show regular communication during your relationship