Applied: 09 Nov 2023
Approved: 10 Dec 2023
Ceremony Invitation Received: 11 Dec 2023 (for 7 Feb 2024).
Venue: Auckland Town Hall
Just sharing my experience. I received my invitation for the February ceremony the day after I received my approval email in December. So I don’t think they wait 4-6 weeks before the actual ceremony to send your invitation to you. I received mine almost 2 months before. So it just really depends.
Ceremonies usually resume in February for Auckland. In your attached invitation letter, or for Auckland at least, there will be a seat number. For example “S15” this actually gives you an idea (apart from knowing where you’re going to be seated) when your name is going to be called to go on stage. The letter is the row so if your seat allocation starts with A, B, C, etc. you’ll be seated at the front and your name is called early, as they start calling out names by row starting with the front row. I always thought it was alphabetical based on your name but it is not.
There were almost 600 candidates for citizenship in my ceremony as they said it was for the Auckland Region (not just Auckland Central area) so that might explain the number. My row was “S”, so i was seated at the back end which is fine, you get to see the other nationalities but my hands hurt from clapping for 500+ new citizens (kidding!).
Tip though.. if you hate queues either arrive very early OR 15-10 minutes before the ceremony starts. You need to register so they can verify you’re physically present for your ceremony so they can hand you your citizenship certificate once your name is called on stage. I arrived 45 minutes before the start of the ceremony and the queue was very long and snaked all the way to Aotea Square.
Depending on whether you chose the oath or affirmation, you’re asked to stand to recite it (the text will be shown on screen don’t worry). You can also choose to recite the oath or affirmation in Te Reo. Some did that and it was very special and meaningful. Looking back, I wish I did the same.
The ceremony started at 6.30pm and ended around 8.45pm for us. Not bad considering there were almost 600 new citizens plus their families. Refreshments are served after the ceremony.
I waited for a day to apply for my NZ passport and got it 2 days after (applied Thursday, received my passport on Saturday- yes the Passport office can request for a Saturday delivery), their courier of choice is NZ Post to my relief.
Hope sharing my experience helps. The ceremony was quite an emotional experience for me especially when I look back on my journey getting there.. from Student visa, to Work visa to Resident to Permanent Resident, etc. This forum allowed me to learn from the experience of others. So a huge thank you to JandM and Kelerei for the solid guidance and all the wealth of knowledge both of you bring to this forum!
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Originally Posted by siberian-girl
