Former Guernsey resident Steven Ozanne said he and his wife, Rachel, left the Channel Islands because of employment opportunities here.
Mr Ozanne had previously worked as park ranger in New Zealand and the accessibility of outdoor recreation areas made a lasting impression.
‘‘It's beautiful place. It's easy to live here and feels very safe. There's just room to breathe,'' he said.
Dr Gulchachak Sadikova, formerly of Uzbekistan, described Dunedin as ‘‘a beautiful place''.
Although she was a paediatrician for 14 years in Uzbekistan, her qualifications were not recognised in New Zealand and she was studying nursing at Otago Polytechnic.
‘‘It would take too long to retrain and becoming a doctor here would be very expensive. I am looking forward to working as a registered nurse here,'' Dr Sadikova said.
The area where she formerly lived became the target of insurgent activity after the United States established air bases nearby and flew missions south into nearby Afghanistan. Her daughter and two grandchildren remained in Uzbekistan.
‘‘We talk about the children coming here to get education . . . all the time. There is [ethnic] discrimination. Although safety has improved, it is not like here,'' she said.
Dunedin Mayor Peter Chin, who officiated at yesterday's ceremony, said the event had a ‘‘family feel'' as two Dunedin City Council staff - Sean Lee (formerly of Indonesia) and Darlene Thomson (formerly of Canada) - gained citizenship.
Those granted citizenship were:
Mr Dinesh Enoka Abeysuriya (Sri Lanka), Mr Anilkumar Bhagavatiprasad Agrawal, Mrs Dipakabahen Anilkumar Agrawal, Nirav Anilkumar Agrawal (India), Dr Hwee Sin Chong (Singapore), Mrs Pauline Ann Clough (British), Mr Richard Edward William Davidson (British), Miss Robyn Jennifer Entwistle (British), Mr Mark James Henderson (British), Miss Joy Hunter (British), Mr Rick William Kelty (British, Irish, United States), Mr Sean Budhi Lee (Indonesia), Mr John Derek Llewellyn, Mrs Margaret Amanda Llewellyn, Master Joseph William Llewellyn, Master Benjamin John Llewellyn (British), Master Ram Lalith Kumar Lukka (India), Miss Jamila Omedi (Iran), Mr Steven Robert Michael Ozanne, Mrs Rachel Ann Ozanne (British), Mr Yue Pan (China), Miss Frances Elizabeth Radley (British), Ms Anjini Chandr Mala Reddy, Mr Krishneel Reddy, Miss Krishika Reddy (Fiji), Mr Mark David Robinson (British), Dr Gulchachak Eduardovna Sadikova (Uzbekistan), Mrs Vicki Lynn Taylor, Mr Jason Wayne Taylor (United States), Mrs Darlene Elma Thomson (Canada), Mrs Lien Thi Thuy Trinh (Vietnam), Mr Jonathan Underwood, Mrs Sheridan Margaret Sim (British), Mr Edmund Sean Waller (South Africa), and Miss Jiao Ni Wu (China).
