New Waipa citizens from far afield
4 February 2015
People from more than 50 different nations have made the Waipa district their home since 2002.
In the last 13 years, 1525 new arrivals to the district have been granted New Zealand citizenship after attending official ceremonies at Waipa District Council.
Each new citizen swears an oath and his or her family is gifted a native kowhai tree at a morning tea hosted by the Mayor.
Of Waipa's 174 new citizens last year, one third (72) were from Britain. The next largest group was from South Africa (38 people) followed by Fiji (9), India (8), Romania and Zimbabwe (6 each).
Last year's new citizens reflected broad trends over the past 13 years [see table below].
In the Waipa district last year, people from 26 different nations received citizenship from as far afield as Cambodia, China, France, Ireland, Namibia, Mexico and Ukraine.
Top 10 countries of origin | Numbers granted NZ citizenship at Waipa ceremonies 2002-14 |
---|---|
Great Britain | 677 |
South Africa | 355 |
India | 58 |
Zimbabwe | 56 |
Samoa | 44 |
Fiji | 40 |
Phillipines | 29 |
The Netherlands | 28 |
Romania | 26 |
China | 20 |
Ends
All media enquiries, contact Jeanette Tyrrell (on behalf of council) 027 507 7599