The Weston father of three was one of 16 Cessnock residents inducted as Australian citizens at Cessnock Performing Arts Centre on Friday.

Mr Dela Gente was moved to Australia from his home country of the Philippines for his job six years ago.

He had a son Rain at that stage, but after moving to Australia he had a daughter Chloe while on a 457 visa and then another son Lance after he became a permanent resident.

Rain and Chloe were also inducted as citizens on Friday, but Mr Dela Gente said they didn’t know the difference.

“[Becoming a citizen] doesn’t matter to them because they find this place home already,” he said.

For Mr Dela Gente he said he also already felt welcome in his community and Australia, but being inducted made it feel official.

“I’ve been living the way Australians live since I got here,” he said.

“It is different now, when it’s in paper it’s formal.”

The Murphy family from Vineyard Grove also took the pledge on Friday to formalise their status as Australian citizens.

Manchester couple Nicola and John Murphy fell in love with Australia while on a holiday here, so they moved their family of five to the Hunter Valley 10 years ago.

Their children Ryan and Emily also became citizens on Friday, while their eldest son Daniel will be inducted at a later date.

Mrs Murphy said becoming citizens was “the final piece in the jigsaw” for them.

Cessnock City Council general manager Stephen Glen congratulated the sixteen residents on taking the step to become citizens.

Cessnock mayor Bob Pynsent read Immigration Minister Peter Dutton’s message, while Mount View High student Chloe Brown sang Etta James’s At Last as well as the National Anthem.

Cessnock town crier Stephen Clarke also joined in on the celebration, giving the proclamation and leading the audience in The Aussie Barbecue Song.