UK gay woman in legal fight to settle in HK
Print Edition
A GAY British woman yesterday launched a challenge against the Hong Kong government’s refusal to grant her a visa to live in the Chinese city with her partner, calling the decision “discriminatory.”
Campaigners said the case is a landmark for the socially conservative Hong Kong, which does not recognise gay marriage and only decriminalized homosexuality in 1991.
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.
However, after being denied a dependant visa, she is on a tourist visa and cannot work.
“All I want is equal treatment,” she said. “If our (heterosexual) friends can easily get a dependant visa then why can’t we? I don’t want to be treated as a second-class citizen.”
Hong Kong does not explicitly rule out gay couples, but its immigration law states that only the “spouse” of a person permitted to work in the territory may apply for a dependant visa.
Heterosexual couples who are not married are not eligible for the visa either.
QT and her partner are not legally married, although gay marriage was legalized in England and Wales in 2013.
Lawyer Michael Vidler, who is helping QT mount her case, said it is “unconstitutional” for the government not to recognise civil partnerships conducted overseas.
“They are being unreasonable in the policy they are taking, misapplying the law and the concept of spouse according to the law,” he said, adding that QT had been told by Hong Kong authorities that the city does not recognise same-sex couples.
The immigration department declined to comment on the case, which is expected to be heard over two days.
“The impact of the case will be big,” gay rights activist Billy Leung said.
“It will affect a lot of people who wish to come to Hong Kong and whether Hong Kong can maintain our position as a place to do business,” added Leung.
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