Hong Kong allows couple to apply for spousal visa

Hong Kong, July 4 (IANS) Hong Kong's top court on Wednesday allowed a British lesbian to apply for a spousal visa in a landmark ruling that is expected to open the door for other foreign gay couples to move their partners to the city-state on dependent visas.

The Court of Final Appeal dismissed the local government's refusal to grant a dependent visa to the lesbian whose partner had accepted a job in Hong Kong, as illegal, reports Efe news.

The ruling "recognises that same-sex couples legally married or in civil partnerships overseas should be able to live with their partners in the same way as opposite-sex couples", Jan Wetzel, an advisor in Amnesty International said.

A district court had rejected the visa application in March 2016. But in September 2017, a court of appeals had ruled in favour of her partner.

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