Same-sex Partners' Rights in Hong Kong: the Court Rulings and the Position Now (July 2026)
Published: 2026-07-31
About these case summaries: everything below describes decisions courts have made and statements officials have published, drawn from the judgments and official texts (verified 31 July 2026). English quotations are verbatim from the judgments; the Chinese renderings in the TC version are our own gloss and have no legal effect. The law in this area may change; this page is updated on developments. Our full verification process for case content — full-text reading of every judgment, corrigendum checks and independent human review — is set out in our methodology .
This article is dated 31 July 2026. This area is still moving. The article states only what the courts have decided (quoting the judgments) and what officials have said (quoting official statements), and takes no editorial position.
A hypothetical scenario
Example (hypothetical): a same-sex couple lawfully married abroad lives in Hong Kong. They want to know: if one dies, does the other inherit? Can they apply for public housing together? Does Hong Kong recognise their relationship at all? The answers differ by area of law — below, item by item, from the judgments and official statements.
1. What the Court of Final Appeal decided in 2023
In FACV 14/2022 (main judgment [2023] HKCFA 28, 5 September 2023; judgment on relief [2023] HKCFA 31, 27 October 2023), the applicant raised three questions. As recorded in [2023] HKCFA 31 (¶1–2, ¶16):
- Is there a constitutional right to enter a same-sex marriage in Hong Kong? Rejected unanimously.
- Is the Government constitutionally obliged to establish an alternative recognition framework? Held by a majority (3–2) that it is. The Court's final Declaration, verbatim (¶16(2)(b)(i)): "Declares that, the Government is in violation of its positive obligation under Article 14 of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights to establish an alternative framework for legal recognition of same-sex partnerships (such as registered civil partnerships or civil unions) and to provide for appropriate rights and obligations attendant on such recognition..."
- Is there a constitutional right to have a foreign same-sex marriage recognised (as a marriage) in Hong Kong? Rejected unanimously.
The Court suspended the Declaration's operation for two years from the date of the order (27 October 2023) to give the Government time to comply, with liberty to apply in connection with implementation, non-compliance, or an extension (¶16(2)(b)(ii), ¶16(3)).
2. After September 2025: where things stand
- The Government subsequently submitted the Registration of Same-sex Partnerships Bill to the Legislative Council. On 10 September 2025 the Second Reading was voted down — the official statement records 14 votes in favour, 71 against, 1 abstention.
- The Government's statement of the same day said it would not apply to the court for an extension of the suspension period and would further discuss and study the issue with the Department of Justice; that it respects the rule of law; and that the issue is highly controversial, with stakeholders in society holding different views.
- By the terms of the order, the two-year suspension expired on 27 October 2025. As at this article's verification date (31 July 2026) we have seen no published court application or new framework proposal; this page will be updated on any development.
3. Right by right: what the courts have decided
| Area | Holding | Present effect (per the judgments) |
|---|---|---|
| Same-sex marriage (in Hong Kong) | No constitutional right ([2023] HKCFA 28/31, unanimous) | Same-sex marriage cannot be contracted under Hong Kong law |
| Recognition framework | Government constitutionally obliged to establish one ([2023] HKCFA 31 Declaration) | No framework yet; suspension expired; Government says it is studying the issue with the DoJ |
| Public rental housing (ordinary-family applications) and HOS | The Housing Authority's policies discriminated against same-sex couples lawfully married overseas — declared unlawful and unconstitutional below; the CFA unanimously dismissed the HA's appeals ([2024] HKCFA 29 ¶16, ¶89, ¶94) | Those policies cannot be applied to exclude overseas-married same-sex spouses as before |
| Intestate succession and the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Ordinance | The CFA unanimously upheld the remedial interpretation: "valid marriage" in IEO s 3(d) and IPO s 2 includes foreign marriages validly contracted abroad — encompassing foreign same-sex marriages for the purposes of those two ordinances ([2024] HKCFA 30 ¶130–131, ¶143) | Overseas-married same-sex spouses have the same position as opposite-sex spouses under those two ordinances — but the judgment states expressly that this "does not have the effect of constituting such marriages valid marriages under Hong Kong law" (¶130) |
| Parentage of children born to same-sex couples (RIVF) | The CFI held on 9 September 2025 that the constitutional challenge "is made good" ([2025] HKCFI 1974 ¶239); the court found a proper basis for the grant of relief but deferred the precise form of that relief for further argument (¶254–256) | Relief undetermined; appeal status to be checked — watch for developments |
Not included in this table: dependant visas, civil-service spousal benefits and joint tax assessment — areas with earlier court rulings which this article has not yet verified against the original judgments; they will be added once verified.
4. The three judgments, case by case
[2024] HKCFA 29: public housing and HOS (26 November 2024, unanimous)
The Housing Authority's "Ordinary Families" PRH policy recognised only certain relationships — "either husband and wife, parent and child, or grandparent and grandchild" (¶6) — and HOS purchases were restricted to households in specified relationships (¶10); overseas-married same-sex spouses were not recognised. The Court of First Instance held the policies discriminated against same-sex couples lawfully married overseas and declared them unlawful and unconstitutional, and the Court of Appeal agreed (¶16). Five judges of the CFA unanimously dismissed the HA's appeals (¶94).
[2024] HKCFA 30: intestate succession (26 November 2024, unanimous)
The case concerned an overseas-married same-sex couple: on an intestate death, is the surviving partner a spouse of a "valid marriage" under the Intestates' Estates Ordinance and the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Ordinance? The CFA unanimously endorsed the courts' remedial interpretation (¶130–131): "valid marriage" in those ordinances includes "a marriage celebrated or contracted outside Hong Kong in accordance with the law in force at the time and in the place where the marriage was performed" — encompassing foreign same-sex marriages. The Court was equally explicit about the limit: the interpretation applies for the purposes of those two ordinances and "does not have the effect of constituting such marriages valid marriages under Hong Kong law and does not confer the status of marriage upon the parties" (¶130).
Two practical pointers (information, not advice): how intestacy distributes an estate — see our intestacy guide ; the requirements for making a will — see the wills guide .
[2025] HKCFI 1974: parentage of an RIVF child (9 September 2025)
A married female same-sex couple had a child through reciprocal IVF; only the gestational mother was recognised in law and on the birth certificate (¶1–2). The Court of First Instance upheld the constitutional challenge, holding, verbatim (¶239): "In conclusion, I think that the constitutional challenge is made good."
It is important to be precise about how far the judgment went: the court granted no declarations in it. Verbatim (¶254): "In the circumstances, though I have found a proper basis for the grant of relief, likely in the form of various declarations, I think it appropriate to hear further argument as to what the precise form of that relief should be." The parties were invited to agree a timetable to address the question of relief (¶256), and costs were reserved until that exercise is complete (¶257). The final form of relief and any appeal remained to be checked as at this article's verification date.