RYDE TO STAGE GROUP ONLINE CITIZENSHIP CEREMONIES DURING LOCKDOWN
Hundreds of residents in the City of Ryde will become Australian citizens during lockdown after Council received permission to stage online citizenship ceremonies with multiple attendees.
Previously during the 2020 lockdown, online citizenship ceremonies were only allowed to take place one resident at a time, but the Federal Government has now given permission for the City of Ryde to stage t hem with multiple attendees.
As a result, the City of Ryde will stage three ceremonies on 6 August, which will enable 72 residents to become citizens. This will be followed by an additional six ceremonies on 13 August, which will mean a further 288 resid ents will become citizens.
City of Ryde Mayor, Clr Jerome Laxale, said the ongoing COVID -19 restrictions over the past 18 months had meant there was a large number of people in the City of Ryde who are waiting to become Australian citizens.
"In the doom and gloom of the current lockdown, this is finally some positive news that we can look forward to," Clr Laxale said.
"As the son of migrants, my parents always told me how special a moment it was on the day they became Australian citizens, so I am deligh ted that we will be able to stage these online ceremonies and see hundreds of local residents receive their Australian citizenship.
