An expat has impressed thousands of Australians with the hilarious tribute she paid to her new home country during her Australian citizenship ceremony.
Mila moved to Australia from Ukraine in 2019 and became an official citizen on Monday at a ceremony on the Sunshine Coast.
For the exciting occasion, the immigrant had her nails done with various Australian symbols and motifs, from Vegemite to State of Origin and a sunny beach.
The 38-year-old told FEMAIL she was “overexcited” about her nails and took the opportunity to show them off to everyone she could.
She shared her themed manicure on TikTok racking up thousands of views and prompting many to accept Mila as a new Australian with open arms.
Mila was excited to officially become an Australian citizen at a ceremony on the Sunshine Coast on Monday, but one detail had Australians nervous.
For the exciting occasion, the immigrant had her nails done with various Australian symbols and motifs, from Vegemite to the State of Origin to a sunny beach.
Mila entered the ceremony on Monday thinking it would be nothing more than a formal administration, but she was unexpectedly overwhelmed with emotion.
Mila, who works as a forklift driver at a hardware store, explained the meaning of each nail between contagious giggles.
On her pinky was an Indigenous-inspired dot painting and then the Australian flag on her ring finger.
On the middle finger was the iconic Vegemite logo, however Mila laughed because they could only manage the letters ‘VEG’.
Mila then had a beach scene on her index finger and the word ‘Straya’ on her thumbnail.
On his other side was the XXXX Gold beer logo, as well as a ‘Q’ for the state of origin Queensland Maroons and a kangaroo on his pinky.
The tribute delighted Australian viewers, who said they were more than happy to welcome Mila to the country.
“The fact you’ve included 4X makes you Australian by default,” one woman said.
Someone give this woman citizenship! another wrote and a third said: ‘You’re the best Australian of the year.’
‘You have completely understood the Australian spirit, you are amazing! Congratulations on becoming a citizen!’ responded a fourth.
On her nails, Mila had the Vegemite logo, an Australian flag, an indigenous-inspired dot painting, a sunny beach, XXX Gold, a kangaroo, the word ‘Straya’ and the ‘Q’ from the Queensland Maroons.
Even Sunshine Coast Mayor Rosanna Natoli (left), who presided over the citizenship ceremony, was impressed by Mila’s manicure.
‘Talk about a person who has embraced our country!’ someone added.
The Ukrainian-Australian first moved to Australia a decade ago, but returned to Europe shortly after because she didn’t like it.
‘First time I lived in New South Wales. “When you Google Australia, they show you all these photos of the beach and the sun, but because I lived in New South Wales, there was snow and I wasn’t prepared for that,” she said.
‘I thought my English was good but no one could understand me speaking and I couldn’t understand them. I couldn’t get a job and drive a car.
Shortly after leaving, he began to miss Australia and decided to give it another chance in 2019.
‘At some point I got a job offer and transferred to the Sunshine Coast. It was the first place I felt like I belonged. The weather was good and the people were nice.’
Mila entered the ceremony on Monday thinking it would be nothing more than a formal administration, but she was unexpectedly overwhelmed with emotion.
Mila said she was pleasantly surprised by how “calm” and “relaxed” all the councilors in attendance were at the event, including Taylor Bunnang (pictured).
“I thought they would call people on stage to give them their certificate, but there were 261 other people there, it would have taken a few days,” he laughed.
“I had been living here for a while and I thought it was just an official ceremony, but as soon as they gave me my certificate when I walked in, I started crying.”
Mila was showing off her nails to “everyone” because she “loved them so much.”
Even Sunshine Coast Mayor Rosanna Natoli, who presided over the citizenship ceremony, was impressed by Mila’s manicure.
Mila shared a video of one of Rosanna’s employees taking a photo of the manicure while explaining what each nail meant, making the mayor laugh with joy.
He said he was pleasantly surprised by how “calm” and “relaxed” all the councilors attending the event were.
“They were just normal humans talking to us and congratulating us, they were very informal, I didn’t know government people could be so relaxed,” he said.