Vallejos v Commissioner of Registration

Vallejos and Domingo v. Commissioner of Registration
Judiciary of Hong Kong
Court	Court of Final Appeal, Hong Kong
Full case name	Vallejos Evangeline Banao also known as Vallejos Evangeline B. and Daniel Domingo L. v. Commissioner of Registration and Registration of Persons Tribunal (FACV 19 and 20/2012)
Decided	2013-03-25
Citation(s)	(2013) 16 HKCFAR 45
Transcript(s)	HKLII
Case history
Prior action(s)	Vallejos v. Commissioner of Registration (HCAL 124/2010) Domingo and Domingo v. Commissioner of Registration (HCAL 127 and 128/2010) Commissioner of Registration v. Vallejos (CACV 204/2011) Commissioner of Registration v. Domingo (CACV 261/2011)

Vallejos and Domingo v. Commissioner of Registration was a court case against the government of Hong Kong by two foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) seeking permanent residence and the right of abode in Hong Kong. Because of its subject matter it was commonly referred to in the media as the FDHs' right of abode case (外傭居港權案). Evangeline Vallejos and Daniel Domingo were two of five applicants who in various groups filed three right of abode lawsuits in 2010; the ruling in Vallejos' case was expected to be a precedent for the other two.

On 30 September 2011, Justice Johnson Lam of the Court of First Instance of the High Court (CFI) ruled in Vallejos' case that existing legislation restricting FDHs from qualifying for permanent residence contravened the Hong Kong Basic Law. Lam also found that Vallejos and Domingo, but not the three other applicants, had fulfilled the condition of taking Hong Kong as their only permanent home and being ordinarily resident in Hong Kong for seven years. The Court of Appeal of the High Court overturned the CFI's decision on Vallejos' case on 28 March 2012. Vallejos and Domingo then jointly appealed to the Court of Final Appeal (CFA), which heard their case on 26–28 February 2013; the CFA rejected their appeal on 25 March 2013.