An effort by a group of international law firms operating in Hong Kong to intervene in a lawsuit concerning visas for gay spouses has been denied by Hong Kong’s highest court, but the justices acknowledged in their denial that the Immigration Department’s policy to exclude same-sex spouse visa applications would narrow the talent pool for foreign employers.

A three-justice committee of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal on Monday dismissed an application made by 16 law firms operating in Hong Kong alongside 15 foreign banks and Amnesty International, seeking to join the litigation on behalf of a British woman referred as QT who is trying to obtain a visa to remain in Hong Kong as a spousal dependant of her same-sex partner.