Phoenix striker Krishna becomes NZ citizen

Wellington Phoenix have another A-League import slot at their disposal after striker Roy Krishna was granted Kiwi citizenship.

Fijian international Krishna has been based in New Zealand for a decade, representing Auckland clubs at domestic level before arriving at the Wellington Phoenix in 2014.

He has gone on to score a club record 34 goals in 101 appearances.

The Phoenix have long-hoped Krishna's status would change, allowing coach Mark Rudan to fill an additional Visa player spot, adding to the existing group of English defender Steven Taylor, Spanish midfielder Mandi and Polish pair Filip Kurto and Michal Kopczynski.

Labasa-born Krishna's citizenship announcement on Thursday came as a surprise after the 31-year-old spoke to journalists a day earlier and gave nothing away.

It was previously hoped his application would be approved by Christmas.