A Buddhist monk from Korea was among those Far North residents who became Kiwis at a Far North District Council citizenship ceremony earlier this month.
Yasala Bhante started the Pannarama Buddhist Meditation Centre at Takou Bay, north of Kerikeri, with Bruno Mertens in 2008.
She was one of 29 immigrants from 10 nations to be granted New Zealand citizenship by Far North Mayor Wayne Brown at the council chambers in Kaikohe on September 7.
They included 13 people from Great Britain, four from Belgium, four from the US, two from Fiji and one each from Brazil, China, Germany, India and Thailand. The council's biggest citizenship ceremony was in June when 40 people from 11 nations became Kiwis.