FOR one new Australian family, becoming citizens means they have the freedom to raise their family following their beliefs.
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Nidhish Francis and Ansin Antony were two of the 10 people who finally became Australian citizens at Friday afternoon's citizenship ceremony.
The couple travelled across the globe before finding their new home in Australia, and they could not be any happier.
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"We are originally from Kerala, which is the southern most part of India. But, we were living in the USA before moving to Australia," Mr Francis said.
"We moved to Australia just because we liked the culture of Australia more than the United States.
"Both Ansin and I were studying when we decided to move - and we were able to continue when we arrived."
The family of three moved to Melbourne in 2013, before moving to Wagga four years later when they both received a job offer at Charles Sturt University.
The move also saw their family grow to four with the arrival of their son - who is now two years old - Anshel.
In one word, Mr Francis described his new home as "more conservative," which was the reason behind his family's move.
"It is what we like as a family," he said.
"We are able to practice our religion as Catholics - and we wanted our children to be able to grow up in that similar sort of scenario where we have more of an influence over our children."
Mr Francis' six-year-old daughter Auniel said she loves living in Australia because there are "so many good places" to play.
"My favourite part about Australia is all the slides and parks," she said.
Ms Antony said there are many cultural differences between India, the USA and Australia. However, the reason she loves her new home is because the community is united and welcoming.
"In India we speak different languages and each state has different cultures and food items," she said.
"But in Australia, I feel that we are very united - with a single language and everyone can understand each other.
"We felt very welcomed in Australia, which is the most important thing."
Although she will always feel that India is their motherland, Ms Antony said Australia is their home and they are thrilled to become citizens.
"(On Thursday), we celebrated our Indian Independence Day, but (on Friday) we became Australians and we are very happy," she said.
Wagga City Council's citizenship ceremony also welcomed new citizens from countries, including Malaysia, Ireland, the Philippines and Vietnam.