Citizenship Ceremonies

While QLDC host the ceremonies, the Department of Internal Affairs allocates candidates to each. You will receive communications from the Department of Internal Affairs as to when your ceremony will take place. Invites are generally sent 1 month prior to the date of the ceremony.

QLDC does not hold specific information about your citizenship application and cannot allocate you onto a future ceremony date as this is managed directly through the Department of Internal Affairs. If you have not received an invite to an upcoming ceremony or have a specific question relating to your application/passport, you will need to speak directly with the Department of Internal Affairs on the below contact details.

Mayor Glyn Lewers, QLDC Councillors and members of the Welcoming Community team will be there on your special day as you take your oath or affirmation of allegiance to Aotearoa New Zealand. If the Mayor is unable to attend, the Deputy Mayor will be present to witness the oaths and affirmations as per legislative requirements.

Ceremonies are held at the Queenstown Memorial Centre and Lake Wānaka Centre.

Dress code is smart casual. We encourage you to wear something special to mark this occasion. This is a celebration of your heritage and your new country of citizenship coming together so feel free to express this in the appropriate way.

Each new citizen can bring up to two guests (due to limited venue capacity and health and safety requirements). Guests will be seated separately for the duration of the ceremony but there will be plenty of opportunities for you to all have photos together after the ceremony takes place.

You must stay for the whole ceremony, this is a legal requirement in gaining your citizenship. If you need to leave before the afternoon tea, this is okay.

There will be a photographer present taking group photos of the day. You are welcome to request a photo with your guests or family but please bear in mind that the photographer is there for everyone. Photos will be sent to you in the days following the ceremony at no cost.

There is space to leave prams in the foyer of the venues, and if you have any accessibility requirements for either yourself or your guest(s), please let us know in advance so we can be sure to accommodate your needs.

Important to note:

• If you have been allocated onto a ceremony that does not suit your schedule, please let us know in advance so we can liaise with the Department of Internal Affairs and they can work with you on placing you into a ceremony date that suits you better.

• While we show the full year of dates on our website, please ensure you have received an invite and have responded with your RSVP to an upcoming ceremony before showing up on the day of the event ceremony. This means your certificate is accounted for on the day. If we do not have you listed on our RSVP list, we would need to refer you back to the Department of Internal Affairs in order to be allocated onto a future ceremony date.

• The ceremony will start at 1.00pm and take about 1 hour, followed by afternoon tea and photos.

Listed below are the dates for Citizenship Ceremonies.

2024

• Tuesday 26 November: Queenstown Memorial Centre

2025

• Tuesday 18 February: Queenstown Memorial Centre

• Tuesday 15 April: Lake Wānaka Centre

• Tuesday 17 June: Queenstown Memorial Centre

• Tuesday 9 September: Lake Wānaka Centre

• Tuesday 18 November: Queenstown Memorial Centre

When you become a citizen, you will be gifted a native plant from Queenstown Lakes District Council. These plants have been specifically selected by local nurseries for our alpine environment. You are welcome to plant these at home, or alternatively you can bring them along to a local planting day. The websites linked below list upcoming planting days in Wānaka and Queenstown.

• Te Kākano Aotearoa Trust

• Whakatipu Reforestation Trust

Staff will be in touch soon after your ceremony to provide resources on how to care for your native plant.