The community gathered in the park from about 9am to witness 17 adults and one child take their oath and officially become citizens of Australia.

Janetlee Gregoricus has been living in Wagga since 2017 and was "overwhelmed with joy" on Wednesday as she became an official Aussie.

Originally from Boston, Massachusetts in the United States, Ms Gregoricus first came to Wagga because of love.

She met her husband in 2015 and after a few years of long-distance, moved to Wagga to be with him in 2017. That same year, they were married at a ceremony in the Botanic Gardens.

"I love living in the country, so that's been surprising to me because I've been near the ocean my whole life," she said.

"Once I got here and I got used to the community and Wagga I really really loved it."

For Ms Gregoricus, the citizenship ceremony was an emotional experience.

"I got all teary eyed as everyone got theirs," she said.

"To me it's special to do this and to call this my country now, I'm really really proud of it."

Madhukar Regmi, originally from a small town in Nepal, wanted to soak up every second of the experience on Wednesday as he finally became a citizen.

First coming to Australia in 2015 for postgraduate study and then work, Mr Regmi soon fell in love with the country.

He lived in Western Sydney originally, then Moss Vale, but has settled down and bought his family home in Wagga.

"I just love it here," he said, commenting on the good weather, quiet traffic and quick access to nature, such as neighbouring farmland and Kosciuszko National Park not too far away.

"I was planning to study and maybe work, see how I go [in Australia] ... things just got so smooth [and] I just loved it here," Mr Regmi said.

As for what's next, he and his family are hoping to do a trip around the country.

After years of working to make it happen, Shelan Khodedah was also thrilled to be able to call herself an official Aussie today.

Born in Iraq, Ms Khodedah had a difficult upbringing amidst war and violence, having to flee the country to escape ISIS in 2014.

"A lot of my community [was] being kidnapped, my relatives, my friends, being kidnapped, being killed, suicided; everything's terrible," she said.

Ms Khodedah spent three years in Turkey before coming directly to Wagga, and said the peaceful environment and community spirit has given her a huge amount of comfort.

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"I want to live here forever," she said.

"After working for a long time, for five years to become Australian, it's a very ... special day for me."

Now that Ms Khodedah is officially a citizen, she hopes to be a mentor to others in Wagga and offer support as a way to "pay Australia back".

"When we [first came] we didn't know anything of Australia and the rules ... they gave us a lot of support."

Wagga City Council mayor Dallas Tout presided over the Australia Day citizenship ceremony, reading aloud the oaths for Wagga's newest citizens to repeat and posing for photographs with members of the community.

"Today we are celebrating the coming together of different cultures which makes our community a wonderful and diverse place," he said.

"I wish you a life [full of] peace, prosperity and happiness and as mayor of this city can I say how proud I am to be a part of this occasion today."

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