NRL star Tom Burgess on why he’s become an Australian citizen

He moved from the UK to Australia with a plan to play NRL for one year and then go back home. But fast-forward eight years and Tom Burgess is in love with our country and here to stay forever after becoming an Australian citizen.

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When Tom Burgess landed in Australia eight years ago, he thought he would stay and play in the NRL for just one year.

Now the South Sydney Rabbitohs star, one quarter of the famous Burgess brother clan, is engaged to an Australian, has welcomed the arrival of a baby girl, become a citizen and is here to stay.

“Who would’ve thought?” Burgess told The Sunday Telegraph.

Tom Burgess, pictured with his fiancee Tahlia Giumelli with daughter Sophie, is now an Australian citizen. Picture: Tim Hunter

“I’d only signed a one-year deal at the time and I wanted to give it a go, but back then I couldn’t have imagined how my life would unfold.

“I’m so proud to be an Australian, getting married to an Aussie girl and having our beautiful Sophie.”

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The 27-year-old is so sure he wants to call Australia home forever, in December he became an Australian citizen.

“I decided to become a citizen when I re-signed with Souths in 2018,” he said.

“By that stage I’d fallen in love with the country, its people and knew that I wanted to live in Australia.

Tom Burgess, his fiancee Tahlia and daughter Sophie on the day he became an Australian citizen.

“The ceremony was quite a process. I became a permanent resident first, which was lots of paperwork then had to go on ‘permanent residency’ for a year. After that I was eligible to apply for citizenship.

“You wait for the letter to come and you take the test … I passed the test with flying colours, 20 out of 20.

“Then the letter came through for the date of the ceremony. It was very exciting, all the effort and time put in was all worth it. Tahlia, Sophie and some of our friends came along to the ceremony.

“It was a great experience to be in a room full of people all going through the same emotions and having my daughter and fiancee standing by me was incredibly special.”

Tom, who is the only Burgess brother to become an Australian citizen, said while he misses his mates in the UK, his love for Australia grows each year.

”I love how free and multicultural Australia is,” he said.

Tom Burgess says he has come to love Australia and wants to raise his family here. Picture: Tim Hunter

He plans to do that with his model fiancee Tahlia Giumelli. He proposed to her in December.

“Out of everything, I think it is the beaches which Tom loves the most here,” Giumelli said.

“He is obsessed. He is always swimming, even in winter. We love that Sophie will be treated to all our beaches. And we just have such a nice relaxed lifestyle here in Australia.”

It’s that relaxed lifestyle — and a renowned love of budgie smugglers — which will ensure the youngest Burgess is here to stay.

“I intend to always keep a base in Australia no matter where my life takes me. And can see myself growing old here, still walking to the beach in my budgie smugglers when I’m 80!” he said.

Originally published as NRL star Tom Burgess on why he’s become an Australian citizen