HK court rejects residency application of Pinay maid, son

Published November 10, 2011 4:12pm

Hong Kong's High Court has rejected a Filipina maid and her Hong Kong-born son's petition for permanent residency, saying she did not take steps to prove that she lived there permanently. A report of Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) said the court ruled that Josephine Gutierrez did not prove she lived permanently in the Hong Kong special administrative region (SAR). Justice Johnson Lam said Gutierrez's 14-year old son also did not qualify for right of abode because he had not stayed in the SAR continuously for seven years. According to GovHK, non-Chinese residents in Hong Kong must meet the following requirements to be eligible for residency:

proof of seven years continuous ordinary residence in Hong Kong immediately before the date of the application for permanent resident status (school documents, employment proof, official receipts, bank statements or income tax receipts are accepted as "proofs), and

travel document showing entry to Hong Kong and their current condition of stay in the HKSAR. RTHK said Gutierrez and her son had challenged the refusal of the immigration authorities to grant them permanent identity cards. Only in September, the court issued a landmark ruling that the law banning foreign domestic helpers from seeking permanent residency was unconstitutional. However, the Hong Kong government is appealing the ruling. The government is not processing any applications for right of abode from foreign domestic helpers until a higher court makes a definitive ruling. - VVP, GMA News

Tags: hongkong, pinoysinhongkong, residency