A British lesbian on Monday won the right to live and work in Hong Kong with her partner in a landmark legal decision that could reduce more hurdles for same-sex couples in the city.
QT, as she is referred to in court, entered into a civil partnership in Britain in 2011 and moved to Hong Kong the same year after her partner was offered a job in the city. But she was denied a dependant visa and has instead stayed in Hong Kong on a visitor visa, which does not allow her to work. The Court of Appeal overturned a lower court’s decision last year, which rejected her efforts to secure a visa to settle in Hong Kong.
Monday’s decision, reached unanimously by a panel of three judges, said immigration authorities “failed to justify the indirect discrimination on account of sexual orientation that QT suffers”. “Whilst one-ness, together-ness, joint-ness and mutuality are hallmarks of a heterosexual marriage relationship, they are not, or no longer, exclusive to such a relationship,” the judgment added.
Campaigners have described the case as a landmark for the socially conservative southern Chinese city, which does not recognise gay marriage and only decriminalised homosexuality in 1991. Activists and members of the LGBT community applauded the decision. Ray Chan, a pro-democracy politician and first openly gay lawmaker in Hong Kong, called the case a “big win for same-sex dependents to apply for visa to stay in Hong Kong”.
Some say the decision could pave the way for broader equality and LGBT rights in the former British colony. “The judgement is a step towards greater rights for same-sex couples in Hong Kong and is a recognition of same-sex couples as valid relationships,” Geoffrey Yeung, member of Progressive Lawyers Group, told AFP.
The court also made an economic case, saying that preventing a partner from joining a foreign worker is “counter-productive to attracting the worker to come to or remain in Hong Kong to work in the first place.” Twelve top financial institutions including Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley submitted their views to the court earlier this year, saying that diverse hiring practices were crucial to attracting and retaining top talent.
Last year HSBC placed rainbow-painted LGBT-friendly installations in front of its iconic building in the heart of the city, earning support from some groups but also drawing the ire of conservatives and anti-gay campaigners. Hong Kong’s immigration department said it was studying the judgment carefully and would seek legal advice before making a decision on whether to appeal.
