Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal has upheld a lower court’s judgment to allow same-sex couples to secure a spousal visa.
The ruling resolves, with finality, what has been known as the “QT case”, which involves a British lesbian woman with the initials QT, who was denied a visa to live with her partner, who relocated to Hong Kong for work. The couple entered a civil union in the UK in 2011.
The court, which reached its verdict unanimously, said that denying QT a spousal visa amounted to unlawful discrimination, the Hong Kong Free Press reported.
Furthermore, the court also said that the Immigration Department’s policy that denied same-sex couples equal visa benefits was not rationally connected – and was actually “counter-productive” – to the department’s goal of attracting talent to join Hong Kong’s workforce.
QT released a statement in response to the decision, expressing her happiness with finally receiving equal treatment from the Hong Kong government.
“Today’s ruling by the Court of Final Appeal affirms what millions of us in this wonderful and vibrant city know to be true, that discrimination based on sexual orientation… is offensive and demeaning – it offends against Hong Kong’s core values and undermines the rule of law,” she said.
The case attracted widespread attention, with several big-name financial firms, such as AIG, Goldman Sachs, and Credit Suisse, expressing support for QT, saying that discrimination against LGBT individuals and couples negatively affects Hong Kong’s competitiveness and ability to hire global talent.
