HongKong court rejects landmark residency bid by Filipina maid

[john.mccainn]

Hong Kong's top court on Monday threw out a landmark case that would have given hundreds of thousands of foreign maids the right to seek permanent residency, ending a legal battle that split the city.

In rejecting the bid to give maids the same residency rights as other foreigners, the Court of Final Appeal ruled that there was no need to refer the case to Beijing for a final say, which would have sparked new controversy.

Officials in semi-autonomous Hong Kong had suggested enlisting the advice of the Chinese central government on the immigration question, sparking warnings that they were jeopardising the territory's cherished judicial independence.

But the top court drew a line under the matter by rejecting the two-year legal challenge first brought by Filipina maid Evangeline Banao Vallejos, a mother of five who has lived in Hong Kong since 1986.

"With the court's ruling today, it gave its judicial seal to unfair treatment and the social exclusion of foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong," said Eman Villanueva, spokesman for labour rights group Asian Migrants' Coordinating Body.

He was joined by other members of his group outside court chanting "No to discrimination" and "We are not slaves".

Vallejos won a High Court ruling in 2011 granting her the right to request permanent residency status, which most foreigners can seek after seven years' stay but which is denied to the city's 300,000 foreign domestic helpers.

Activists had hailed the ruling as a big step for equal rights for maids, who are a backbone of society in richer Asian economies and a financial lifeline to their home nations, notably the Philippines and Indonesia.

But the Court of Final Appeal unanimously sided with arguments from the Hong Kong government, which warned that the ruling would swamp the cramped city's population of seven million.

"The FDH (foreign domestic helper) is obliged to return to the country of origin at the end of the contract, and is told from the outset that admission is not for the purposes of settlement and that dependents cannot be brought to reside in Hong Kong," the top court said in a 49-page judgement.

Another Filipino domestic helper Daniel Domingo, whose bid for residency was similarly rejected after living in Hong Kong for 28 years was the case's joint appellant.

The ruling means maids will continue to be specifically excluded from eligibility to settle in Hong Kong, which would give them access to voting rights and the right to live in the former British colony without a work visa.

Lawyer Mark Daly, who represents the helpers, said Vallejos was "speechless" but respected the decision. Vallejos and Domingo were not in court Monday.

"It's regrettable that the opportunity has been lost on this occasion to strike a blow for equality and non-discrimination," Daly said.

The government said it was "carefully" studying the verdict. There are about 1,000 pending applications from foreign maids seeking permanent residency.

Hong Kong's foreign maids receive a minimum wage of HK$3,920 (US$505) a month and benefits such as one guaranteed day off a week, but rights groups say they face discrimination and a lack of legal protection from abusive employers.

The Vallejos case threw new light on Hong Kong's often uneasy relationship with authorities in mainland China and the full extent of the territory's autonomy under its mini-constitution, known as the Basic Law.

While there have been repeated outcries from the Hong Kong public against perceived mainland interference, the southern city's own government stands accused of undermining its autonomy by seeking Beijing's adjudication.

That was the case regarding a long-running legal question about children of Hong Kong permanent residents from mainland China, which like the foreign maids case had created anxiety over the potential strain on the city.
HK court rejects landmark residency bid by maids
Hong Kong court rejects landmark residency bid by maids | World | DAWN.COM

damn i really cannot understand the way thinking especially Filipinos and viets.
don't they hate us Chinese ? and yet still want to live and seek residency in Chinese's country.
oops perhaps they assumed hongkongers is not Chinese lol
Good move hong kong

 

[Zero_wing]

Sir one this under the basic law of HK and only a few would love to live in racist mainlander for economic reasons and its residence not citizenship and beside this thread and you proves how racist you mainlanders are so please spare me the ego its economics not your version of hypocrisy

 

[terranMarine]

Good news

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

It is very simple. They signed a contract saying that they would return to their country of origin after the contract ended, and told specifically that this contract was not for the purposes of settlement.

"The FDH (foreign domestic helper) is obliged to return to the country of origin at the end of the contract, and is told from the outset that admission is not for the purposes of settlement and that dependents cannot be brought to reside in Hong Kong," the top court said in a 49-page judgement.

I have no problem with Filipino maids, I had a Filipino maid myself, to help do the cleaning. And my family had several Filipino maids when I was growing up.

They are lovely people. But they are not Chinese citizens.

If they want citizenship and residency, they need to go through the proper channels, and apply for it officially like everyone else.

 

[john.mccainn]

Sir one this under the basic law of HK and only a few would love to live in racist mainlander for economic reasons and its residence not citizenship and beside this thread and you proves how racist you mainlanders are so please spare me the ego its economics not your version of hypocrisy

a pot calling a cattle black

It is very simple. They signed a contract saying that they would return to their country of origin after the contract ended, and told specifically that this contract was not for the purposes of settlement.



I have no problem with Filipino maids, I had a Filipino maid myself, to help do the cleaning. And my family had several Filipino maids when I was growing up.

They are lovely people. But they are not Chinese citizens.

If they want citizenship and residency, they need to go through the proper channels, and apply for it officially like everyone else.

singaporean will disaggre with you.dude filipino though theyself as a white lol. And proud of it , yeah i knew that not all fillipino like that ,i had meet one filipino which is nice.
But sometime they just irritating example@zero_wing lol

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

Sir one this under the basic law of HK and only a few would love to live in racist mainlander for economic reasons and its residence not citizenship and beside this thread and you proves how racist you mainlanders are so please spare me the ego its economics not your version of hypocrisy

Both we Hong Kongers and the Mainlanders are Chinese citizens (not to mention ethnically/culturally Chinese as well). Both regions are a part of the PRC.

You can't say you hate Chinese and then cry about not being able to stay in China.

If non-Chinese citizens want to immigrate to Hong Kong, you either have to be highly skilled (multiple degrees, PhD's, doctorates, etc.) or you have to invest over $1.5 million USD in Hong Kong markets.

It's not easy, right? You can't just skip the entire process by being a maid, that doesn't work.

 

[Bob Ong]

The right of every human being, including Filipinos, to seek abode in any land is inherent and must never at all be hampered by racial or social discrimination. The world has moved into more enlightenment. The Philippines has accommodated and continues to accommodate millions of "illegal" Chinese as abode seekers without discrimination at all. Filipinos are now more assertive and that is really good progress.

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

singaporean will disaggre with you.dude filipino though theyself as a white lol. And proud of it , yeah i knew that not all fillipino like that ,i had meet one filipino which is nice.
But sometime they just irritating example@zero_wing lol

Filipinos in Hong Kong are usually not from the young and nationalistic demographic like Zero_Wing, but rather middle aged women who work as professional maids.

Just go down to Central on a Sunday and you will see them everywhere. Some can even speak Chinese quite well.

I think they are great people, and I had several maids that I liked a lot when I was growing up.

But again, they are not Chinese citizens. If they want citizenship and residency they need to apply for it, and it is not easy at all to meet the requirements.

 

[john.mccainn]

The right of every human being, including Filipinos, to seek abode in any land is inherent and must never at all be hampered by racial or social discrimination. The world has moved into more enlightenment. The Philippines has accommodated and continues to accommodate millions of "illegal" Chinese as abode seekers without discrimination at all. Filipinos are now more assertive and that is really good progress.

oh please just because there were chinese ethnic in philippine that doesn't mean filipino just can jump to hongkong and be a citizen.
China is 1.3 billion populations. what filipinos can contribute to china ?lol
phillipine even cannot handle their own country , see how many rebels were in your country ?
If your phillipine were in good progess ,why there so many rebels from different religion ,tribes, etc.
Btw why filipinos didn't go to usa if for better economic life ha, bet they didn't want you guys.

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

oh please just because there were chinese ethnic in philippine that doesn't mean filipino just can jump to hongkong and be a citizen.

It will be easier if they are ethnic Chinese.

Because you get extra points in the application if you can speak Chinese (specifically Cantonese or Mandarin).

And if you can speak more than one Chinese dialect you get even more points.

(Also if they are ethnic Chinese it is likely they will have relatives in China too, which makes it even easier).

 

[RazorMC]

Don't get it. Why all this commotion in HongKong only? They shouldn't aim to misuse a privilege.

Look at the thousands of Filipina maids in the GCC; silent.

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

Don't get it. Why all this commotion in HongKong only? They shouldn't aim to misuse a privilege.

Look at the thousands of Filipina maids in the GCC; silent.

Hong Kong has an HDI higher than even Western European nations like Britain/France/Germany, the 2nd highest life expectancy on Earth and one of the highest incomes in the world.

So a lot of people want to come here to stay.

But it's not easy to get Chinese citizenship and residency in HK. It is easier for mainlanders since they are Chinese citizens too and they usually have family members here. (Most Hong Kongers have relatives living in the mainland).

But for non-Chinese citizens it is much harder, unless you have relatives who are Hong Kongers.

 

[john.mccainn]

It will be easier if they are ethnic Chinese.

Because you get extra points in the application if you can speak Chinese (specifically Cantonese or Mandarin).

And if you can speak more than one Chinese dialect you get even more points.

(Also if they are ethnic Chinese it is likely they will have relatives in China too, which makes it even easier).

i mean the filipino , not the chinese filipino.
Yup almost chinese in SEA can speaks more than one dialect (hokkien ,hakka,tio ju,etc)
even my aunty live in hongkong.

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

i mean the filipino , not the chinese filipino.
Yup almost chinese in SEA can speaks more than one dialect (hokkien ,hakka,tio ju,etc)

I remember reading somewhere that we have a deal with some countries in SE Asia that we encourage the ethnic Chinese there to move to HK and get citizenship here.

I know we have a deal with Singapore like this but I can't remember about the other countries.

So if you are an ethnic Chinese living in SE Asia it will be much easier for you to get residency in HK.

 

[Bob Ong]

oh please just because there were chinese ethnic in philippine that doesn't mean filipino just can jump to hongkong and be a citizen.
China is 1.3 billion populations. what filipinos can contribute to china ?lol
phillipine even cannot handle their own country , see how many rebels were in your country ?
If your phillipine were in good progess ,why there so many rebels from different religion ,tribes, etc.
Btw why filipinos didn't go to usa if for better economic life ha, bet they didn't want you guys.

Being selective when it comes to who they will allow to apply for permanent residency is wrong, considering some of these maids have already satisfied the conditions for the application. If it is stated in the law that foreigners are entitled to permanent residency after seven years of staying in HK, then even maids should be able to apply for that. Anything else would be discriminatory.

i mean the filipino , not the chinese filipino.
Yup almost chinese in SEA can speaks more than one dialect (hokkien ,hakka,tio ju,etc)
even my aunty live in hongkong.

Filipino-Chinese is still FILIPINO