The Interior Ministry is prepared to implement the Marriage Equality Bill, which is expected to become law later this month, according to spokeswoman Traisulee Taisaranakul.
Ms. Traisulee stated that the Department of Provincial Administration (DoPA) has updated regulations to align with the new legislation and established guidelines to aid in the registration process.
Additionally, the department has enhanced its computer system and updated marriage registration forms to ensure that same-sex marriages can be registered immediately after the bill is enacted, she mentioned on Friday.
“A trial run was conducted last month, and everything is set. When the marriage equality law takes effect on January 23, same-sex couples will be able to register their marriages at any district office nationwide,” she stated.
The bill has been endorsed by His Majesty the King and was published in the Royal Gazette on September 24 of the previous year, making Thailand the third country in Asia, following Taiwan and Nepal, to recognize same-sex marriage.
This new law allows same-sex couples to marry and grants them the same legal rights as heterosexual couples. These rights include the ability to adopt children, manage and inherit a spouse’s assets, the right to divorce, access to state welfare if their spouse is a civil servant, and tax benefits.
The Thai LGBTQ+ community views this as a monumental victory after advocating for their rights for over two decades, marking a significant step towards equal rights in Thailand.
The Justice Ministry plans to review additional legislation to ensure that same-sex couples are afforded the same rights as heterosexual couples in establishing a family, including the surrogacy bill, nationality bill, and gender recognition bill.
Couples may register their marriage at 18 years or older, though those under 20 require parental consent. The law employs gender-neutral language, referring to married couples as “two individuals” instead of “a man and a woman” and replacing “husband and wife” with “spouses.”
Bangkok Pride, in collaboration with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), intends to organize a mass wedding on the day the bill takes effect, welcoming any same-sex couples residing in Thailand or abroad to participate. The goal is to attract 1,448 couples, symbolizing the number of sections in the Marriage Law within the Civil and Commercial Codes that were amended in support of same-sex marriage.
Dr. Wantanee Wattana, the BMA’s permanent secretary, indicated that all 50 districts in the capital have been preparing officials for the new law in collaboration with DoPA. She mentioned that officials have undergone training to understand the marriage registration system for same-sex couples better and to be sensitive to issues of sexual diversity.
Dr. Wantanee also recommended that same-sex couples pre-register with their district office for marriage registration to obtain information about the required documents.
The proposal to permit same-sex marriage was initially introduced in 2001 by then-Interior Minister Purachai Piamsomboon but was rejected by then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The initiative resurfaced in 2019 during Prayut Chan-o-cha’s administration.
Although legislation on marriage equality was approved, it was later abandoned when parliament was dissolved. Ultimately, the Lower House passed the Marriage Equality Bill on March 27 of last year, and it received Senate approval 84 days later.
