Growing number of people becoming Kiwis in Rotorua

Sanjay Kumar and his wife Parnila Chand are now New Zealand citizens. Photo / Stephen Parker

When Sanjay Kumar first arrived in New Zealand in 2006 he only had $200 and ended up homeless, sleeping in his car.

The Fijian plumber had followed his heart and future wife Parnila Chand who was studying childcare and living in student quarters.

''This was my first trip outside Fiji and I had no idea how to live. I had no friends and knew nobody.''

Shona and Willa Tauhau took Kumar into their home and yesterdayat a ceremony at Rotorua Lakes Council both couples celebrated Kumar and Chand's citizenship.

Today Kumar is a homeowner, landlord, plumber and gas fitter.

He said Rotorua provided opportunities for those who were willing to take it and he had upskilled his own qualifications to make a go of it.

''It's fantastic. This is the land of opportunity, I only started with a couple of hundred bucks but worked hard.''

Kumar said the Tauhaus were their whanau and what goes around comes around as they were able to help them out and return the favour recently.

''They went to Aussie and lost everything so they came and stayed with us. That is how we are close to each other.'

''That is what we realised in this world there are people out there who are the same as you, they might have a different skin colour but inside we are all the same. We never knew we would meet somebody here that would look after us.''

Figures from Internal Affairs showed the number of new citizens attending ceremonies in Rotorua had jumped from 230 in 2014 to 320 to the end of November this year with 34 attending yesterday's ceremony.

Mayor Steve Chadwick said diversity brought richness to a community.

"It's what makes life, and places, interesting. People with different backgrounds bring different skills and experiences, different thinking and new ways of doing things.

''It's also good for our children to be exposed to different people and cultures, to learn about the world beyond what they know and accept people's differences.''

Officiating at citizenship ceremonies was one of her favourite tasks as a mayor.

''It's often very humbling and moving when people share what's brought them to New Zealand and to Rotorua, and why it's important to them to become citizens of their adopted home.''

Those who take citizenship take it very seriously, she said.

''They want to contribute to the fabric of our society and they never take New Zealand citizenship for granted. It's always a good reminder of how fortunate we are to live in our wonderful country and makes me very grateful for that privilege.''

John Erdbeer from Britain told the crowd he had enjoyed a wonderful life in Rotorua and it was a safe community.

Holding his grandson in his arms he said as long as ''we look after it, [New Zealand] it will look after us''.

* There were 34 new citizens who attended the ceremony at Rotorua Lakes Council.
Shejin Antony Arakkathara, Megha Joseph Arakkal, James Richard Bell, Marthinus Christoffel Botha, Noreen Anne Brigid Botha, Jarryd Botha, Kieran Botha, John Derek Erdbeer, David Brian Hennigan, Jonathan Jr. Costelo Isidoro, Sanjay Kumar, Parnila Chand, Jae Hoon Lee, Jong Seob Lee, Ju Yeon Oh, Seo Woo Lee, Deborah Jean Nickel, Adele Jane Simpson, Peter Reaside, Suresh Chandra Singh, Emily Pauline Margurite Spear, Pauline Margurite Spear, Dr David William Spear, William David Michael Spear, Nualwan Suppipat, Ms Veena, Weiwei Hao, Susan Kinsella, Harry William Murdoch, Sala Tiv, Michael White, Caroline Anne White, Clare Helen Maginness and Dr Tracy-Lee Jansen.

Rotorua citizen ceremony numbers
* 2014 - 230
* 2015 - 205
* 2016 - 281
* 2017 to end of November - 320
Source Internal Affairs