Residency for maids case opens in Hong Kong court
Source: AFP |
00:45 UTC+8 February 27, 2013
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A HEARING to decide whether the hundreds of thousands of domestic workers making a living in Hong Kong can seek residency began in the city's top court yesterday.
The case, brought by Filipina maid Evangeline Banao Vallejos, could also reopen the controversial issue of whether children born in Hong Kong to parents from Chinese mainland have the right to stay.
Vallejos won a High Court ruling in 2011 granting her the right to request permanent residency status.
The government appealed last March, successfully arguing that the authorities had discretionary power to decide who was eligible for residency and that restrictions on maids were not unconstitutional or discriminatory.
Hong Kong's 300,000 foreign maids receive a minimum wage of HK$3,920 (US$505) a month and benefits such as one guaranteed day off a week, but rights groups say they face discrimination and a lack of legal protection from abusive employers.
Campaigners argue they should not be treated any differently from other foreigners who flock to the city to seek work and who can apply for permanent residency after seven years.
The hearing in the Court of Final Appeal is expected to last up to three days.
Government officials have warned that making domestic helpers eligible for permanent residency could open the floodgates to hundreds of thousands of residency requests.
The case could potentially reopen the issue of whether the children of Chinese mainland parents can stay in Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong government has said the case should be referred to the central government for its reinterpretation of the Basic Law, which sets out the city's status and rights.
Mainland parents
If happens, the central government would also need to decide on the status of children born to mainland parents who weren't permanent residents at the time of their birth, according to Basic Law expert Professor Lin Feng.
In 1999 the Court of Final Appeal ruled that children of people who have right of abode also have that right, even if their parents were not permanent residents at the time of their birth.
Hong Kong asked the central government to "reinterpret" the Basic Law after claiming an extra 1.6 million people from the mainland could obtain the right of abode, causing a severe social and economic strain on the densely populated city.
The central government subsequently ruled that children born outside Hong Kong were only eligible if at least one parent was already a permanent resident.
However, in 2001 the Court of Final Appeal ruled that children born in Hong Kong to mainland parents had right of abode regardless of whether their parents were legal residents.
The case, brought by Filipina maid Evangeline Banao Vallejos, could also reopen the controversial issue of whether children born in Hong Kong to parents from Chinese mainland have the right to stay.
Vallejos won a High Court ruling in 2011 granting her the right to request permanent residency status.
The government appealed last March, successfully arguing that the authorities had discretionary power to decide who was eligible for residency and that restrictions on maids were not unconstitutional or discriminatory.
Hong Kong's 300,000 foreign maids receive a minimum wage of HK$3,920 (US$505) a month and benefits such as one guaranteed day off a week, but rights groups say they face discrimination and a lack of legal protection from abusive employers.
Campaigners argue they should not be treated any differently from other foreigners who flock to the city to seek work and who can apply for permanent residency after seven years.
The hearing in the Court of Final Appeal is expected to last up to three days.
Government officials have warned that making domestic helpers eligible for permanent residency could open the floodgates to hundreds of thousands of residency requests.
The case could potentially reopen the issue of whether the children of Chinese mainland parents can stay in Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong government has said the case should be referred to the central government for its reinterpretation of the Basic Law, which sets out the city's status and rights.
Mainland parents
If happens, the central government would also need to decide on the status of children born to mainland parents who weren't permanent residents at the time of their birth, according to Basic Law expert Professor Lin Feng.
In 1999 the Court of Final Appeal ruled that children of people who have right of abode also have that right, even if their parents were not permanent residents at the time of their birth.
Hong Kong asked the central government to "reinterpret" the Basic Law after claiming an extra 1.6 million people from the mainland could obtain the right of abode, causing a severe social and economic strain on the densely populated city.
The central government subsequently ruled that children born outside Hong Kong were only eligible if at least one parent was already a permanent resident.
However, in 2001 the Court of Final Appeal ruled that children born in Hong Kong to mainland parents had right of abode regardless of whether their parents were legal residents.
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