Procedures were a little different than usual at the district's latest Citizenship Ceremony yesterday morning (13 August) but for those in attendance to pledge their allegience to New Zealand and complete their journey to become full citizens, it was just as special.

​Pictured: The Manangkil family reciting their oath to become New Zealand citizens.

Nine people joined Ashburton District Mayor Neil Brown and a small number of their guests for the ceremony at the Ashburton Trust Event Centre, with strict physical distancing protocols in place to adhere to Alert Level 2 restrictions.

This was the first ceremoney held in the district since March when the Department of Internal Affairs was forced to cancel these events due to COVID-19 restrictions.

As with previous ceremonies, each candidate took their turn to stand beside the Mayor to recite their oath or affirmation before being presented their ceritifcate of citizenship.

Mid Canterbury's newest citizens were Shane Fraser; Pauline, Paul Steven and Aisla Georgina Kirkaldie (United Kingdom); Wai Yin Vivien Kuan (Hong Kong); Kyle Canlas, Laura Canlas and Felix Evangelista Manangkil (Philippines)​​; and Tomas Muller (Argentina).​