CHESHIRE West and Chester Council has welcomed 17 new British citizens at a ceremony.

Rowton Hall Hotel was the venue for the first citizenship ceremony under the new local authority.

Fourteen adults and three children from Italy, Venezuela, Thailand, Turkey, India, Gambia, Iraq, Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria were granted citizenship in front of family, friends and local officials, who were entertained by music students from Chester’s Kings School.

Citizenship ceremonies were first introduced in 2004 and the former Cheshire County Council performed 57 ceremonies with more than 1510 people from 94 countries becoming new citizens by March 2009.

The ceremony marks the final stage in the long process of a foreign national becoming a British citizen.

The criteria includes having lived in the UK for at least five years, or three years if the applicant has a British partner, being able to communicate in English and passing a ‘Knowledge of Life in the UK’ test.

Mrs Pha Stewart and her children Domon and Faa, originally from Thailand, said the ceremony meant a lot to her family.

She said:”We felt proud to become British and celebrated with our British friends and family afterwards.

“It was nice to have a ceremony to confirm that we were British rather than a letter in the post.”

Mrs Stewart, who runs Siam Thai and Teppanyaki restaurants in Chester with her British-born husband, added: “My two children have lived here for five years and Britain is now our home.

“As the children were young when we moved here they adapted to life in the UK quickly and are now more British than Thai.”

Another new citizen, Shane Nelson, an IT specialist from South Africa, has been in Britain for five years. He lives in Newton with his British-born wife Emma and son Ethan, seven.

He said:”We moved to Britain to be close to my wife’s parents, although we lived in New Zealand for a few years after leaving South Africa.

“Even though I was entitled to stay, I couldn’t participate fully in British life, such as at elections.

“Chester is our home now and gaining citizenship makes me feel that I’m really part of the community.”

The council’s area and Community portfolio holder, Councillor Lynn Riley, said: “We are delighted to welcome these new citizens, who add so much to the life of our communities. The ceremony is an important occasion for us and the new citizens as it recognises the value and honour of becoming a British citizen.”