Hong Kong: Court Overturns Ruling on Domestic Workers
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HONG KONG -
Read the original article in full: Hong Kong Court Overturns Ruling on Domestic Workers | The New York Times
Excerpt:
Chief Judge Andrew Cheung, writing for the three-member panel of the High Court, said that an immigration ordinance restricting residency rights for domestic workers was constitutional, a decision that strikes down a local court ruling from September.
Mark Daly, a lawyer for Evangeline Banao Vallejos, the Philippine-born domestic worker at the center of the case, said an appeal of Wednesday’s ruling to the Court of Final Appeal, Hong Kong’s highest court is probable, but a decision had not yet been made.
Many foreign-born residents are eligible to apply for permanent residency after living in Hong Kong for seven consecutive years, a status that grants greater rights, like being allowed to live in the territory without a visa, and access to benefits including public housing and social security.
Ms. Vallejos, a domestic worker who has lived in Hong Kong for more than 25 years, challenged the immigration department ordinance and won a ruling last Sept. 30, when a judge called the department’s ruling a violation of the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s effective constitution since its return to Chinese rule in 1997.
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