Recognition of same-sex unions in Europe

Laws regarding same-sex partnerships in Europe¹
  Marriage
  Civil union
  Limited domestic recognition (cohabitation)
  Limited foreign recognition (residency rights)
  Unrecognized
  Constitution limits marriage to opposite-sex couples
¹ May include recent laws or court decisions that have not yet entered into effect.
Countries performing civil unions in Europe
  Gender-neutral civil unions.
  Civil unions for same-sex couples only.
  Former civil unions for same-sex couples, replaced by marriage.
  Civil unions never performed.
Part of the LGBTQ rights series
Marriage

Recognized

Civil unions or registered partnerships but not marriage
Minimal recognition
See also
Notes
  1. ^ a b Performed in the Netherlands proper (including the Caribbean Netherlands), as well as in Aruba and Curaçao. May be registered in Sint Maarten in such cases, but the rights of marriage are not guaranteed.
  2. ^ Neither performed nor recognized in Niue, Tokelau, or the Cook Islands.
  3. ^ Neither performed nor recognized in six British Overseas Territories.
  4. ^ a b Neither performed nor recognized in some tribal nations. Recognized but not performed in several other tribal nations and American Samoa.
  5. ^ Registered foreign marriages confer all marriage rights. Domestic common-law marriages confer most rights of marriage. Domestic civil marriage recognized by some cities.
  6. ^ a b c d e The Coman v. Romania ruling of the European Court of Justice obliges the state to provide residency rights for the foreign spouses of EU citizens. Some member states, including Romania, do not follow the ruling.
  7. ^ A "declaration of family relationship" is available in several of Cambodia's communes which may be useful in matters such as housing, but is not legally binding.
  8. ^ Guardianship agreements, conferring some limited legal benefits, including decisions about medical and personal care.
  9. ^ Inheritance, guardianship rights, and residency rights for foreign spouses of legal residents.
  10. ^ Courts have recognised guru–shishya, nata pratha or maitri karar–type contractual relationships, but they are not legally binding.
  11. ^ Some cities and prefectures issue partnership certificates, but they are not legally binding.
  12. ^ Marriages conducted abroad between a Namibian national and a foreign spouse recognized for residency rights.
  13. ^ Hospital visitation rights through a "legal representative" status.
  1. ^ a b Not yet in effect.
LGBTQ portal

Debate has occurred throughout Europe over proposals to legalise same-sex marriage as well as same-sex civil unions. Currently 33 of the 50 countries and the 8 dependent territories in Europe recognise some type of same-sex union, among them most members of the European Union (24/27). Nearly 43% of the European population lives in jurisdictions where same-sex marriage is legal.

As of February 2024, twenty-one European countries legally recognise and perform same-sex marriages: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. A 22nd country, Liechtenstein, will commence same-sex marriages in 2025. An additional ten European countries legally recognise some form of civil union, namely Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Montenegro, and San Marino.

Poland and Slovakia recognise private contractual cohabitation of two persons (regardless of sexual orientation or relationship type - including non-sexual non-intimate relationships) for limited purposes. Although they do not recognise same-sex unions themselves, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia are bound by a ruling by the European Court of Justice to recognise same-sex marriages performed within the EU and including an EU citizen for the purposes of granting legal residence,[1] though this ruling is not always respected in practice, as in the case of Romania which has not implemented the ruling.[2] In December 2023, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that by failing to legalise same-sex unions, Poland had violated the right to respect for private and family life.[3]

Of the countries that perform same-sex marriages, some still allow civil unions, e.g. the Benelux nations, France and the United Kingdom,[nb 1] whereas Germany, Ireland and the Nordic countries have ended their pre-marriage civil union legislation so that existing unions remain but new ones are not possible.

Several European countries do not recognise any same-sex unions. Marriage is defined as a union solely between a man and a woman in the constitutions of Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia and Ukraine. Of these, however, Croatia, Hungary, Latvia and Montenegro allow civil unions for same-sex couples.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference bbc050618 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Boffey, Daniel (14 September 2021). "MEPs condemn failure to respect rights of same-sex partners in EU". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  3. ^ "Poland's laws on same-sex couples violate human rights code, court rules". POLITICO. 12 December 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.


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