South Wairarapa welcomed 10 New Zealand citizens to its district in its last citizenship ceremony for the year on Monday night, at the Greytown Public Library.
Each new citizen affirmed their commitment to New Zealand in front of South Wairarapa mayor Adrienne Staples and chief executive Paul Crimp, before they and their families joined in the singing of the national anthem.
Ms Staples acknowledged the "big move" the new citizens had made in coming to New Zealand.
"People come to New Zealand for a lot of reasons, but one thing that is common for all of them - New Zealand is a long way from anywhere," she said.
"Making that decision to come to this country is making a very real decision to move a long way from family and friends. We welcome them with open arms but we don't ever expect them to forget where they have come from."
