Liechtenstein’s new law legalizing same-sex marriage allows LGBTQ couples across the small nation to finally tie the knot. The European nation’s lawmakers approved the bill in May of last year, after years of lagging behind its neighboring EU member states, Switzerland and Austria, where same-sex unions have been legal for years. The new law went into effect on January 1, 2025.
One of the smallest nations in Europe, Liechtenstein is home to just around 40,000 people and offered its same-sex citizens registered partnerships starting in 2011. With the new law, couples who registered their partnerships under the prior designation can easily convert their partnerships to official marriages with a simple administrative process.
The legalization of same-sex marriages officially comes as no surprise, though it did take some time to come to fruition. Since 2011, the country has been making small gradual adjustments to better accommodate same-sex couples. In 2016, the government made revisions to family name laws in order to allow registered partners to take on their same-sex partner’s last name, according to LGBTQ Nation.
In 2021, Liechtenstein’s highest court ruled to allow same-sex couples to adopt children, a bill that went into effect in 2022. That same year, the country’s ruling body began drafting the marriage equality bill.
The new law makes Liechtenstein the 22nd EU member state to legalize marriage equality.
