NEWS

Thanks be to God! On April 30th, I finally became an Australian citizen.

This process took a total of 10 months - from online application to the citizenship ceremony. The entire process began with the online application in the beginning of July last year, to receiving the interview with test notice at the end of August, and I took the interview with test in the beginning of October. After passing the test, I received a notice in mid-December that I would need to apply for the "Certificate of No Criminal Conviction" (commonly known as "Good Citizen Certificate") issued by the Hong Kong Police Force, which was not completed until the end of January this year. It was not until the end of February that I received an email from the Australian Department of Home Affairs confirming that I could become an Australian citizen. In mid-March, I received an invitation to participate in the citizenship ceremony, and I finally was sworn in as a citizen at the end of April.

A few days before the citizenship ceremony, I didn't have feelings over what is about to occur. I only knew that I had to prepare in advance: practise singing the Australian national anthem well, and in addition, deciding whether to take the Bible to make the pledge of commitment….

There were a lot of people participating in the citizenship ceremony. I think there were about 300 people. Among them, there were about 100 people who themselves became citizens during the ceremony, and the rest were their family members. At the beginning of the ceremony, I only heard the chairman make some formal announcements, and I thought that this was a citizenship ceremony that followed a routine process with scripted speeches. However, as a guest, the Justice of the Peace, was invited to speak on stage, sharing his testimony I realised this ceremony was more than just a mere formality. Of course, his was not a testimony to the salvation of Jesus, but it was his witness that his grandfather brought his father to Australia, which brought about a positive change to his family. The chairman also shared how he emigrated from Lebanon to Australia, how he progressed from not understanding English at all to being able to speak in English fluently today, the benefits of living in Australia, and how he wanted to give back to Australia, give back to society and the community... Hearing their sharing, my heart was excited and my eyes were tearing. I sincerely thank my Lord for leading me to emigrate to Australia, to enjoy a life of democracy, freedom, the rule of law and social harmony. Of course, I will never forget my birthplace.

Looking back, the whole immigration process was not easy. On December 14, 2020, I arrived at Sydney Airport and was sent to the quarantine hotel. It has been more than four years since that arrival and indeed time has flown past. I still remember how I didn't adapt to life in Australia in the first year after I arrived and all the changes I experienced: from living in a high-rise building to living in a townhouse, from living in the city to living in the suburbs, from eating out to cooking at home, from being the boss of a company to being a student in theology…

If you are a native-born Australian, you may not fully understand how I feel—but that’s okay. In fact, each of us as believers has also experienced a kind of immigration, a receiving of citizenship, just as Colossians and Philippians say:

"For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves."

— Colossians 1:13

"But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ."

— Philippians 3:20

We have been brought into God’s kingdom and become citizens of His kingdom. Do we have a grateful heart? Will we, like the chairman and the guest at the citizenship ceremony, take the opportunity to testify to the changes and blessings that have come from being brought into God’s kingdom? May we always value our identity as citizens of the Kingdom of God.

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