Zoe Moffatt
The Vickery family are some of Australia’s newest citizens, after making the change official at the Macedon Ranges citizens ceremony on April 18.
Matthew Vickery and his family are originally from Christchurch, New Zealand and moved to Gisborne in 2016 due to the earthquakes New Zealand was experiencing.
“We left New Zealand in 2010 and came to Australia in 2016 after living in Dubai [for six years],” Mr Vickery said.
“We didn’t want to go back to Christchurch because of the earthquakes.”
Mr Vickery said they had not been to Gisborne before they moved there, but the open spaces and proximity to his work at the airport appealed to them.
“Australia appealed for lots of reasons… we wanted a community, good education and work prospects,” he said.
“[We] like the clean air, open spaces and relaxed lifestyle… and [we] looked for places in a commutable distable [to work].”
While Mr Vickery and his family are glad to be citizens now, he said they found the process long and difficult at times.
“It was particularly difficult with the visas we’re on… [you are] in this limbo of being temporary.”
“[There are] a lot of safety nets you miss out on as a non-permanent resident… it would be nice if they did make it a bit easier for New Zealanders [to become citizens].”
“[Citizenship] takes away the thought in the back of your mind that if something goes wrong that you’ll potentially have to go back to New Zealand… But that’s all a thing of the past.”
In a recent announcement, the Australian government unveiled sweeping changes to immigration rules to allow New Zealanders easier access to citizenship and benefits.
This change was announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on April 22, and allows New Zealanders who have lived in Australia for at least four years to apply for citizenship without becoming a permanent resident first, under the Special Category visa.
Zoe Moffatt
