A Taiwanese citizen and their same-sex partner from Macau has received some good news: a Taipei court has ruled they must be allowed to marry, despite a rule that limits cross-border same-sex marriages.
Taiwan legalized same-sex marriage in 2019. But current law requires that foreign nationals seeking to marry their Taiwanese partners must come from places where same-sex marriage is also legally recognized. This rule effectively leaves foreign nationals from most of the world unable to enter into same-sex unions in Taiwan.
A bill to change this rule is in the works, but some couples aren’t waiting. The Taiwanese-Macanese couple sued after a household registration office denied their marriage application in November 2019. The office argues that Macau doesn’t allow same-sex marriage.
The couple’s lawyers found a loophole, however. Macau’s law says that its residents’ right to marry is governed by the laws of the place where they live. Therefore, Taiwanese laws allowing same-sex marriage should apply in this case. The Taipei High Administrative Court ruled in the couple’s favor on Thursday.
This case may not overturn the restriction on international same-sex marriage in Taiwan, but the couple says they hope it will help pave the way for the restriction’s abolition.