ORANGE welcomed new citizens at its Australia Day ceremony in Cook Park on Monday.
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The new citizens were Wei Ling Chen, Eric Cortes Nogueira, Nancy Cortes Valle, Ji Eun Kim, Run Suk Kwak, Lakhvir Singh, Vipul and Rinaben Macwan, Birenda Malla, Sri Ramya Pullepu, Her Sook Rho, Sae Mee Sim, Na Rae Song, Moe Sumn and Weiwei Wu.
New citizen Ji Kim said she had been an assistant in nursing when she came to Australia about 10 years ago to continue her nursing career.
She lived in Sydney while doing her nursing studies and has lived in Orange for the past three years.
“I enjoy the environment here, I met my husband here, that’s why I wanted citizenship,” she said.
Mrs Kim and her husband Yoon Choy both come from South Korea and since meeting in Australia have had a son, Jaden Choy.
Indian man Lakhvir Singh also decided to become an Australian citizen after moving from the Punjab region seven years ago.
Mr Singh owns the Gardiner Road Mini Mart in Orange and lives with his wife Gurpreet Kaur and baby son Armaan Singh.
“I’m happy now, I’m going to be Australian now,” he said.
Mrs Singh was pregnant at the time her husband sat the citizenship test and was unable to travel to Sydney for it.
However, she said next time there’s an opportunity she wants to become a citizen.
“There’s too much population and there’s no school for further career [in India] so we came here to Australia,” Mrs Singh said.
“We came here as students and got permanent residency and \\ we are happy now.”
Orange mayor John Davis congratulated those who became citizens and said it was an expression of community pride and becoming a member of society.
State member for Orange Andrew Gee also addressed the new citizens and said they had come to a country where people could choose their own future.
tanya.marschke@fairfaxmedia.com.au
