Previously, if you married your same-sex partner abroad, it was not recognised as a registered partnership in Hungary, even if you specifically applied for it. In an unexpected move, the Constitutional Court finally ruled on 3rd June that the legislator’s failure to ensure that same-sex marriages contracted abroad are recognised as registered partnerships in Hungary constitutes an infringement of the Constitution by omission.
This decision was taken after years of litigation. The Hungarian court has already ruled in two cases that a marriage contracted abroad must be recognised as a registered partnership in Hungary, but the Curia has overturned the decision both times, saying that there is no explicit legal provision for marriages to be recognised as registered partnerships. The Constitutional Court has now ruled that the legislature must adopt rules by 31st October 2025 to allow same-sex couples to recognise and register their marriage abroad as a registered partnership. The decision is available here (inHungarian).
We should celebrate this success because it brings us a little closer to equal rights for everyone in Hungary, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
By the way, I often find that people are not even aware of the existence of registered partnership as a legal union, let alone of the rights it entails or how it differs from marriage, even though same-sex couples have been able to enter into registered partnerships in Hungary since 1st July 2009. A registered partnership is not identical to a marriage in function and legal effects, but it is a similar form of partnership. Of the 27 Member States of the European Union, 16 recognise same-sex marriage, but the laws of Bulgaria, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia do not even allow for registered partnerships.
Under Hungarian law, a registered partnership is no different from a marriage in terms of property and inheritance law. Registered partners can inherit from each other in the same way, and joint property is automatically created if the partnership is established, unless stated otherwise by the partners, and they are entitled to the same tax, social, labour, and immigration benefits as married couples.
So far, this all sounds very good, but unfortunately, this relationship does not give any rights in terms of changing your name, adoption, and child-rearing, as registered partners cannot take each other’s names, adopt children together (not even each other’s children), or participate in artificial insemination. While all Hungarian citizens have the option to change their birth name, this is not a real solution for registered partners, as the justification for the request is carefully considered by the competent authority.
The ceremony takes place in a ceremony room in much the same way a marriage does, and it is up to the couple to decide what sort of celebratory fluff they want to add as they tie their lives together, whether they want to ‘march down the aisle’ to their song, have a champagne toast, light a unity candle, or read a quote from Paulo Coelho. So you can celebrate your big day really nicely if you want. In my next post, you can read my conversation with registered partners about their big day.
Translation by Zsófia Ziaja
