Family, marriage and partnerships

Marriages contracted abroad or registered partnerships under civil law are recognised in Switzerland and must be registered with the Swiss civil status authorities. Swiss nationals who get married abroad are required to register their marriage with the competent Swiss representation abroad. The representation translates and authenticates the marriage certificate and forwards it to the civil status authority in Switzerland free of charge. In exceptional cases, you can also notify your cantonal civil status authority, which will forward the marriage certificate and related documents to the representation abroad for translation and authentication. In this case you will be required to pay a fee.

Before you get married or register a partnership, contact your Swiss representation to find out what you will need to do to make sure your marriage is recognised and registered in the civil status register without delay.

The new constitution adopted in 2007 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. In 2021, Thailand passed a law recognizing same-sex partnerships and giving them nearly the same rights as married couples.