Hong Kong Grants Dependency Visas to Foreigners in Same-Sex Unions
September 18 2018 - 10:51AM
Dow Jones News
By Natasha Khan
HONG KONG -- Hong Kong's government agreed, in a step toward
greater recognition of gay rights, to grant dependency visas to
foreigners in same-sex unions, a move long sought by multinational
companies operating in the Chinese financial center.
The government made the change, which goes into effect
Wednesday, after the city's highest court ruled in July that
immigration officials were wrong to deny a dependency visa to a
British lesbian woman whose partner was offered work in the city.
More than a dozen banks and law firms -- including Goldman Sachs
Group Inc. and BlackRock Inc. -- publicly backed the woman's
yearslong legal battle with the city's immigration department.
The government's announcement Tuesday is the latest sign of
gradually shifting attitudes to same-sex couples in traditionally
conservative Asia. Australia and New Zealand are among the few
places in the region that recognize same-sex marriages. Earlier
this month, India's top court ruled that gay sex wasn't a crime,
while Taiwan's top court ruled last year that a law defining
marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman was
unconstitutional.
Gay-rights advocates in Hong Kong welcomed the government's
announcement Tuesday as a step toward greater recognition for
same-sex rights but said they were disappointed that officials
clearly stated the decision wouldn't alter the definition of
marriage in Hong Kong as exclusively heterosexual.
"We're happy to see the government implement the ruling into
policy," said Raymond Chan, an openly gay member of the city's
legislature. "But of course it's not ideal that they clarified it
wouldn't apply to the local population."
The government said Hong Kong people with foreign same-sex
spouses could now apply for dependent visas for them. No other
government policies would be affected by the decision, it said.
The decision puts the city at the forefront of policy on the
issue across most of the region. Refusing dependency visas to
same-sex partners wasn't in line with the city's goal to attract
talent, Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal said in its landmark
ruling in July.
"Hong Kong now has the opportunity to be at the forefront of
attracting top talent to its shores, no matter what their sexual
orientation," said Matthew Bennett, managing director for
recruitment firm Robert Walters in Greater China. "It's a step in
the right direction for Hong Kong to be seen as an economy that
treats people equally."
Write to Natasha Khan at natasha.khan@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 18, 2018 10:36 ET (14:36 GMT)
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