Influx of new citizens to Waipa
13 January 2017
Immigrants from more than 28 different nations formally made Waipa their New Zealand home last year.
Waipa mayor Jim Mylchreest conducted citizenship ceremonies for 255 people in 2016, up from 180 the year before. Of those, 63 per cent of new citizens settled in Cambridge, 27 per cent made Te Awamutu or Kihikihi home with the remainder settling in other parts of the district.
Former Britons (95 of them) made up the largest group of Waipa's newest New Zealand citizens. They were followed by South Africans (71) and Fijians (25). The remaining new citizens came from 25 other countries including Australia (7), the Philippines (7), India (5) and The Netherlands (5).
Other new citizens originated from Thailand, Zimbabwe, the United States, Brazil, Sweden, Ireland, Germany, Malawi, Zambia, South Africa, Italy, China, Canada, Switzerland, Bosnia, Slovakia and Japan.
Last year Mylchreest conducted eight citizenship ceremonies. This year, on the advice of the Department of Internal Affairs, 11 are planned to cater for an expected increase in numbers.
For more information, contact: Jeanette Tyrrell 027 507 7599