A gay senior immigration officer will take his case to Hong Kong’s top court after a lower appeal court earlier ruled that his husband cannot enjoy the same spousal benefits offered to his heterosexual colleagues in the government.

Telling the Post of his decision on Thursday, Angus Leung Chun-kwong said he was encouraged by a recent landmark Court of Final Appeal ruling in favour of a lesbian expatriate, known as QT in court, requiring the city’s Immigration Department to grant her a spousal visa.

“Although the QT case concerned a different aspect, it showcased the importance of the government having to administer its policy with fairness and justify any differential treatment,” he said.

Leung, 37, initiated a judicial review against the Civil Service Bureau in late 2015, after it refused to grant Scott Adams, whom he married in New Zealand in 2014, his spousal benefits.

Hong Kong does not recognise same-sex marriage, and under the law the knot can only be tied between “one man and one woman”.

Leung had also challenged the Inland Revenue Department for not letting the pair jointly declare their tax as heterosexual married couples can do. Read more via South China Morning Post