Thai king signs same-sex marriage bill into law

Former PM Srettha Thavisin, who has been vocal in his support for the bill, also applauded the development as a “significant step” for Thailand.

“Equity and equality have become concrete in the Thai society. Gender diversity will eventually be fully accepted. Congratulations,” he wrote on X.

When the law comes into effect, Thailand will become only the third place in Asia, after Taiwan and Nepal, where same-sex couples can get married.

In 2019, Taiwan’s parliament became the first in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage. Nepal registered its first same-sex union in November last year, five months after its Supreme Court ruled in favour of it.

This was just one month after India’s top court had ruled against it, leaving the decision to the government, which said it would set up a panel to decide on more legal rights for same-sex couples.

Singapore scrapped a colonial-era law that banned gay sex in 2022, but also amended its constitution to prevent the courts from challenging the definition of marriage as one between a man and a woman.

Additional reporting by Thanyarat Doksone in Bangkok