A businessman whose family has been in Hong Kong for more than 100 years has threatened to leave the SAR after losing a court battle yesterday over the residency status of his sons.
Syed Pervez Hussain, who runs a trading company founded by his grandfather in 1890, said he intended to appeal against the decision and would leave if he failed.
The Court of First Instance ruling leaves the future of his two teenage sons uncertain by declaring they were not permanent residents when they were born.
'I am not satisfied. It just does not make sense,' Mr Hussain said. 'How can this happen to someone whose family has been living here for more than 100 years? If this is the situation, I will quit town. There are plenty of countries one can go to.' Syed Asim Hussain, 14, and his brother Haider, 15, sons of the Pakistani businessman, had claimed their birth certificates mistakenly declared their status to be 'not established'.
But Mr Justice Andrew Chung ruled the boys did not have permanent status at the time of their birth because their father, who was not born in Hong Kong, was subject to immigration controls.
He was therefore not 'settled' in Hong Kong at the time, even though he could not be deported.
The judgment could affect as many as 2,000 others in the same position and the case has been closely followed by the Pakistani community.