Citizenship ceremonies are cancelled until further notice. If you have been approved for citizenship, you will instead receive your citizenship certificate by courier post.
COVID-19 and citizenship ceremonies
Attending a ceremony is usually the final step in your citizenship journey.
In response to COVID-19, we are following advice from the Ministry of Health to postpone large public gatherings. There will be no citizenship ceremonies until further notice.
If you have been approved for a grant of citizenship, the Citizenship Office will instead send your citizenship certificate by courier post.
Department of Internal Affairs Citizenship Ceremonies Team PO Box 10680 Wellington 6143 New Zealand
Before your ceremony
Your ceremony is held by your local council. After your New Zealand citizenship is approved, your ceremony will usually take place within 2 to 5 months.
You get an invitation about 4 weeks before your ceremony.
The invitation tells you:
the date, time and place of the ceremony
how many guests you can bring
the statement you will read out at the ceremony.
You must attend a ceremony within 1 year of the date your application for New Zealand citizenship was approved.
If you change your address, plan to travel, or are unable to attend the ceremony
Contact the citizenship ceremonies team if you:
change your address before you get your invitation
plan to travel before your ceremony takes place, or
are unable to attend the ceremony you have been invited to.
When you contact the Citizenship Ceremonies Team, include or have ready your:
The ceremony can take a couple of hours. There might be speeches or performances and the national anthem is usually played.
You will make an oath or affirmation statement to say you are loyal to New Zealand. You are told what to say on the day.
You choose which statement you want to make in your application:
an oath of allegiance — which is a religious statement, or
an affirmation of allegiance.
Oath of allegiance
“I (say your name) swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of New Zealand, her heirs and successors according to law, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of New Zealand and fulfil my duties as a New Zealand citizen. So help me God”.
Affirmation of allegiance
“I (say your name) affirm that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of New Zealand, her heirs and successors according to law, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of New Zealand and fulfil my duties as a New Zealand citizen.”
Watch an example of an NZ citizenship ceremony
Citizenship certificates
You will receive your certificate at the ceremony.
Children aged 13 and under will receive their certificate without having to attend a citizenship ceremony.
If you are a family applying for citizenship together, you can all attend the ceremony and get your citizenship certificates at the same time.
NZ passport
After you have attended your ceremony, you can apply for a New Zealand passport, if you want one.
