About 120 people from more than a dozen countries will become citizens in an Australia Day ceremony at Sutherland Entertainment Centre.
The list of countries where new citizens have come from highlights the growing cultural diversity in the population of Sutherland Shire.
They include Zimbabwe, Chile, Thailand, Egypt, Spain, Malaysia, Indonesia, Germany, India, Venezuela, Philippines and the United Kingdom.
The number of new citizens is similar to that at the 2018 Australia Day ceremony, where Tonga, Belarus, Ukraine, Kenya and Canada and the US also featured as country of origin.
During the two-hour ceremony between 10am and midday, citizenship applicants approved by the Department of Home Affairs pledge their allegiance to Australia in the presence of the mayor, other councillors and VIPs, families and friends.
There is a choice of two pledges, the first stating:
From this time forward, under God,
I pledge my loyalty to Australia and its people
Whose democratic beliefs I share
Whose rights and liberties I respect
And whose laws I will uphold and obey
The second pledge is the same except the words “under God” are omitted.
Children under 16 are not required to make the pledge, but receive their own certificate.
Another citizenship ceremony in Sutherland Shire will be held in May.
