Civil union | Rich X Wiki Search

Notes

^ ^a ^b Performed in the Netherlands proper (including the Caribbean Netherlands), as well as in Aruba and Curaçao. May be registered in Sint Maarten in such cases, but the rights of marriage are not guaranteed.
^ Neither performed nor recognized in Niue, Tokelau, or the Cook Islands.
^ Neither performed nor recognized in six British Overseas Territories.
^ ^a ^b Neither performed nor recognized in some tribal nations of the US. Recognized but not performed in several other tribal nations and American Samoa.
^ Registered foreign marriages confer all marriage rights in Israel. Domestic common-law marriages confer most rights of marriage. Domestic civil marriage recognized by some cities.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d The Coman v. Romania ruling of the European Court of Justice obliges the state to provide residency rights for the foreign spouses of EU citizens. Some member states, including Romania, do not follow the ruling.
^ A "declaration of family relationship" is available in several of Cambodia's communes which may be useful in matters such as housing, but is not legally binding.
^ Guardianship agreements confer some limited legal benefits in China, including decisions about medical and personal care.
^ Hong Kong provides inheritance, guardianship rights, and residency rights for foreign spouses of legal residents.
^ Indian courts have recognised guru–shishya, nata pratha or maitri karar–type contractual relationships, but they are not legally binding.
^ Most Japanese cities and prefectures issue partnership certificates, but they are not legally binding.
^ Marriages conducted abroad between a Namibian national and a foreign spouse provide residency rights in Namibia.
^ Romania provides hospital visitation rights through a "legal representative" status.

Family law
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Private international law Private international law Divorce Marriage Hague Convention (adoption) International child abduction Hague Convention (child abduction) Hague Convention (maintenance)
Family and criminal code (or criminal law) Bigamy Child abuse CPS (US) Child selling Domestic violence Incest Legality of incest Parental child abduction Parental duties Parents' rights Paternity fraud Paternal rights and abortion Right to family life
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A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, primarily created to provide legal recognition for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage, (with child adoption being a common exception).

Civil unions have been established by law in several, mostly developed, countries in order to provide legal recognition of relationships formed by same-sex couples and to afford them rights, benefits, tax breaks, and responsibilities. In 1989, Denmark was the first country to legalise civil unions; however, most other developed democracies did not begin establishing them until the 1990s and early 2000s. In Brazil, civil unions were first created for opposite-sex couples in 2002, and then expanded to include same-sex couples in 2011. In the majority of countries that established same-sex civil unions, they have since been either supplemented or replaced by same-sex marriage. Civil unions are viewed by LGBT rights campaigners as a "first step" towards establishing same-sex marriage, as civil unions are viewed by supporters of LGBT rights as a "separate but equal" status.

Many jurisdictions with civil unions recognize foreign unions if those are essentially equivalent to their own; for example, the United Kingdom lists equivalent unions in the Civil Partnership Act 2004 Schedule 20. The marriages of same-sex couples performed abroad may be recognized as civil unions in jurisdictions that only have the latter.