Pinay Maid, Domestic Helpers Win Residency Ruling in Hong Kong
Filipino domestic helpers relaxing on their day off in Hong Kong. (Credit: AFP/Getty Images)
Under Hong Kong law, foreigners can apply to settle in the city after seven years of uninterrupted residency, but maids were specifically excluded. Their visas are tied to their employers. If they leave their employ, domestic helpers must find another valid employment within two weeks or face deportation.
Hong Kong’s High Court ruled that the law barring them from permanent residency was unconstitutional. “My conclusion is that on the common law interpretation approach the impugned provision is inconsistent with (Hong Kong’s Basic Law),” Judge Johnson Lam ruled today. “The mere maintenance of (a) link with her country of origin does not mean that (a maid) is not ordinarily resident in Hong Kong.”
Activists hailed the ruling as a victory for their call for equal treatment of domestic helpers. Meanwhile, opponents of the ruling said this would make thousands of foreign workers eligible and the influx of their families will be a burden to social welfare spending.
Government lawyers have already said they would appeal the ruling.
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