Since moving to Lake Macquarie in 2014 husband and wife doctors Dr Phaninder Tatineni and Dr Vijetha Vellurupalli have treated literally thousands of patients.
On Tuesday, the Cameron Park residents were recognised as Australians for the first time, along with 80 other new citizens at a ceremony at in Lake Macquarie council chambers.The doctors' daughter, nine-year-old Lasya, also received her citizenship.
"It was such a fantastic feeling," Dr Tatineni, a general practitioner at Wallsend, said. "It was nice to see a lot of people from very different countries and all the different flags sitting under the Australian flag."
Dr Tatineni is originally from Andhra Pradesh, a southern state of India, but lived in England for twelve years before moving to Australia. The 42-year-old said a better work-life balance and warmer weather drew his family to Newcastle.
The doctors have had a second child while in Australia, their two-year-old daughter Liya.
"We wanted to go somewhere where we could expand our family. When we came here Lasya settled into school and I absolutely loved working here," he said.
"We go cycling with the kids and in summer we go to the beaches, and on the weekend we go along the sand dunes in Stockton. We haven't done all the activities. I think there are plenty more of them."
Dr Tatineni said he was happy to find himself in a country as passionate about cricket as his birth country and prior home of England - conveniently earning himself bragging rights for the majority of the world's top teams.
"Now we can go for whoever is winning that day and sledge the others!" he said.
Dr Tatineni sees "20 to 35" patients a day as a general practitioner at Healthcare Evolutions Wallsend. He previously worked at Medowie Family Clinic. Dr Vellurupalli is a GP registrar at a practice near Port Macquarie. She has previously worked at John Hunter, Maitland and Calvary Mater hospitals.
Dr Tatineni said he found patients in the region were more health conscious than those he treated in England.
"People are more active and if they are not, I feel they are more willing to change and adapt to lifestyle plans."
Tuesday marked the annual "Australian Citizenship Day".
"Becoming an Australian citizen is much more than just a formality for a lot of people," Lake Macquarie Mayor Cr Kay Fraser said at the city's ceremony. "It's an acceptance of our way of life and everything Australia has to offer.
"Welcoming people from all walks of life and all corners of the globe to Lake Macquarie enriches our community and makes us who we are today."
