Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal on
Wednesday recognized the marriage of a same-sex couple for
immigration purposes.
The court unanimously upheld a lower
court's decision stating that the same-sex partner of a British
expatriate should be issued the same dependent visa that spouses and
children of heterosexual foreigners receive, the
AP reported.
The ruling marks a significant step for
LGBT rights in the Chinese territory and former British colony.,
where gay and lesbian couples are not allowed to marry.
The court determined that treating
same-sex spouses differently than opposite-sex spouses for
immigration purposes “constituted indirect discrimination.”
The women, identified as “QT” and
“SS,” were in a British civil partnership when they entered Hong
Kong in 2011. QT was given only a visitor's visa, which does not
permit her the right to work or study in the country.
The court said that the immigration
department had “failed to justify the discriminatory treatment.”