TWO-year-old Sidra Al Ouaid and her family were among the more than 220 Newcastle residents to receive their citizenship at Civic Theatre on Wednesday.
City of Newcastle welcomed citizens from 51 countries at the event, which was the city's largest face-to-face citizenship ceremony since the pandemic.
Sidra's family has lived in Newcastle for almost six years, having fled Syria and briefly taking refuge in Lebanon prior to coming to Australia.
Despite being hit by a bus and breaking his skull, cheekbone and ribs only three months after arriving in the country, Sidra's father, Ali, said everything about Australia is "incredible".
10-year-old Amina, Mr Al Ouaid's eldest daughter who was born in Syria, said she is excited to show the citizenship certificate to her peers at Wallsend Public.
The family now plans to apply for passports and travel to Sweden, where Ali has three brothers.
"I'm excited to go to another country," Amina said.
The citizenship certificates were presented on Wednesday by lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes, who said Newcastle has a "proud history as a progressive, welcoming city".
Cr Nelmes said 14 per cent of residents were born overseas and 134 different languages other than English are spoken at home. Wednesday's cohort takes the total of new Australian citizens recognised in Newcastle during 2022 to 380.
"Our new citizens are now able to enrol to vote in elections, exercising their democratic rights, apply for an Australian passport and seek broader employment opportunities," Cr Nelmes said.
Also taking the pledge on Wednesday was Ukranian-born Olha Hoshko, who settled in Stockton in 2016.
Ms Hoshko is from Lviv, a city in the country's west.
"Western Ukraine is a more safe place but there are still attacks and bombings which makes it always tense because you never know what is going to happen," Ms Hosko said.
Having lost her mother last year, Ms Hoshko and her Novocastrian husband, Greg Wallin, visited her family in April this year.
"It was difficult," she said. "My sister and my niece can't come and visit me in Australia because all men from 18 to 60 can't leave the country and they don't want to leave their husbands."
Without her Ukranian family in attendance, Ms Hoshka described the event on Wednesday as "happy and sad" but said she is proud and privileged to be an Australian citizen.
She said her goal now is to strive to provide support for the community, however possible.
A goal she is achieving through her work with NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS) as a Ukrainian bi-cultural support worker.
Darwich Sido has been in Newcastle for six and a half years and has successfully established both a tailor and barber business in town. Mr Sido said on Wednesday he was "very happy" to now be an Australian.
"When I first came here it was very hard. A new language, new country," Mr Sido said.
"I went to TAFE and after that opened my business and now everything is fine and good."
Similar to the Al Ouaid family, Mr Sido fled Syria to Lebanon before coming to Australia. Having lived in Lebanon for four years, he said it has been around 15 years since
Due to ongoing conflict, he can't return to see his sister, father and mother in Syria but plans to now get his passport and visit other family in Turkey and Lebanon.
Mr Sido's 22-year-old son, Mohamed, said he is happy to know his father will now be able to visit family.
"I've seen him work hard since I was a kid," Mohamed said. "We need to take care of him from now on."
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