Poland orders recognition of same-sex marriages registered abroad

Poland will require civil registry offices to recognise same-sex marriages contracted abroad following a new regulation signed by Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński, the government announced on May 22.

Kierwiński confirmed the decision on social media platform X, linking the move to recent rulings by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

“Court rulings are always enforced,” Kierwiński wrote. 

Wlasnie podpisałem rozporządzenie ws transkrypcji małżeństw zawartych za granicą. Dziękuję @KGawkowski za współpracę. Tak jak obiecaliśmy rozporządzenie wchodzi w życie. Wyroki sądów zawsze będą wykonywane.

— Marcin Kierwiński (@MKierwinski) May 22, 2026

The development follows a case in which Warsaw city authorities last week recognised, for the first time, a marriage between two men who wed in Berlin in 2018.

The couple had previously taken legal action after Polish authorities refused to register their marriage following their relocation to Poland, where the constitution defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

The case was brought before the Luxembourg-based CJEU, which ruled in November that EU member states must recognise same-sex marriages concluded in other member states to ensure freedom of movement and the right to family life.

EU judges said citizens must have legal certainty that they can maintain family relations across the bloc.

In March, Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court issued a similar ruling, stating that same-sex marriages performed in other EU countries must be recognised under Polish law.

The Interior Ministry’s regulation will take effect three months after its publication and will become binding on all civil registry offices nationwide.

By Sabina Mammadli