New citizens welcomed to Waipā

More than 130 citizens from countries across the globe formally made Waipā their home in New Zealand last year.

Citizens were welcomed from 25 countries including Britain, India, Fiji, South Africa, India, Cambodia, Australia and America.

Waipā mayor Jim Mylchreest said only one citizenship ceremony was held in February 2020 before ceremonies were suspended by the Department of Internal Affairs when New Zealand moved to Alert Level 4.

“2020 was a turbulent year and, although we weren’t able to welcome our new citizens the way we normally would, we are very pleased to have them here as part of our Waipā family.”

Mylchreest said a Welcome to Waipā function had been held in November for those people who had become citizens in March-September 2020.

“It was fantastic to be able to officially welcome them and celebrate their move to our district.”

Mylchreest said citizenship ceremonies were expected to resume in February 2021.

“An invite to the first ceremony will be extended to all those people who became new citizens from October 2020 onwards. It is a momentous occasion for new citizens and we want to ensure all have the opportunity to have their citizenship celebrated.”

Britons, South Africans and Fijians were the top three nationalities to settle in Waipā in 2020 with 52, 27 and 7 new citizens from each country respectively.

Waipā also became home to the first new citizens from Tuvalu – an island country in the west-central Pacific Ocean – along with Jordan and Pakistan.

Around 2,774 new citizens have now been welcomed to the district since 2002. More information on citizenship ceremonies is available at www.waipadc.govt.nz/our-services/citizenship.