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Last modified: 28 Mar 2023 10:57am

crowd shot of full room, dimly lit, facing a screen with a projected New Zealand flag

Newcomers and long-term residents took a new step together, officially becoming Kiwi, at the Council's latest citizenship ceremony.

The ceremony in Tai Tapu last week saw 96 people receive their New Zealand citizenship — the latest of 806 people from 61 different countries who have got their citizenship in Selwyn in the past year.

Te Taumutu Rūnanga Chair Liz Brown welcomed the new citizens and led karakia and a waiata, and Lt Commander Caitlin Wiseman RNZNR spoke about her role representing the New Zealand Defence Force at the event.

Selwyn’s newest Kiwi came from 18 different countries from Chile to Germany, Vietnam and beyond, and were welcomed with a gift of a native kōwhai to mark the moment. After taking the oath some of the new citizens were invited to share their stories about becoming Kiwi, with those ranging from people who had been in Aotearoa for 40 years to those just starting a new life on these shores.

They were among people from every continent who became New Zealand citizens in Selwyn over the past 12 months. While the majority of the new citizens came from the United Kindgom (172 new citizens), South Africa (159 new citizens), India (133) and The Philippines (88), others came from all corners of the globe. In total over the past year, new citizens came from 61 different countries ranging from Jamaica to Oman, Serbia, Zimbabwe, Samoa, Fiji and Uruguay.