Same-sex marriage has been legal in Estonia since 1 January 2024. The government elected in the March 2023 election, led by Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and consisting of the Reform Party, the Social Democrats and Estonia 200, vowed to legalize same-sex marriage. Legislation to open marriage to same-sex couples was introduced to the Riigikogu in May 2023, and was approved in final reading by 55 votes to 34 on 20 June. It was signed into law by President Alar Karis on 27 June, and took effect on 1 January 2024. Estonia was the first Baltic state, the first post-Soviet state, the twentieth country in Europe, and the 35th in the world to legalise same-sex marriage. Polling suggests that a majority of Estonians support the legal recognition of same-sex marriage.
Registered partnerships, which provide some, but not all, of the rights, benefits and obligations of marriage, have been available to same-sex couples since 1 January 2016.
Registered partnerships Background In December 2005, the launch of a new family law bill by the Ministry of Justice, explicitly defining marriage as a "union of a man and a woman", initiated a public debate on the issue of recognition of same-sex unions. The Ministry of Social Affairs, led by Minister Jaak Aab, expressed reservations about the draft law. The public debate attracted a significant response from LGBT rights groups, which opposed the family law bill and urged the government not to discriminate between same-sex and opposite-sex couples in marriage, stating that, "We call on the government to drop a clause in the draft law on the family, which does not allow the registration of same-sex marriages or partnerships". On 4 January 2006, five Estonian NGOs supporting LGBT rights issued a press release calling for a new partnership law to give same-sex couples equal rights to opposite-sex couples. On the other hand, a number of conservative politicians claimed that Estonia was "not yet ready" for same-sex marriage and that there was no need to create a separate law on same-sex unions since existing laws already implied some protection despite not mentioning same-sex unions explicitly. Väino Linde, the chairman of the Constitution Commission of the Riigikogu, stated that he was "glad to see the conservative views in the Parliament and in the [Constitution] Commission".
As of 2005, the Social Democratic Party was the only political party to publicly affirm its support for same-sex unions. The Centre Party and the Reform Party said that they would "tolerate" such a law, whereas various right-wing parties, particularly the Pro Patria and Res Publica Union, expressed opposition to the recognition of same-sex unions.
Registered Partnership Act In July 2008, the Ministry of Justice, led by Minister Rein Lang, announced that it was drafting a registered partnership law for same-sex couples. The law, initially expected to come into force in 2009, was intended to provide a number of rights to same-sex couples, such as inheritance and shared property ownership. The law had the support of most parties in the Riigikogu. The Ministry of Justice studied proposals for the registration of unmarried couples, including same-sex couples. A comprehensive report was released in July 2009 examining three options: the recognition of unregistered cohabitation; the creation of a partnership registry; or the extension of marriage to same-sex couples. It left the decision over which model to implement to the Riigikogu and other "stakeholders". On 1 July 2010, a new family law was passed, defining marriage as between "a man and a woman" and declaring unions between members of the same sex "null and void". Prime Minister Andrus Ansip was quoted as saying, "I do not believe that Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will soon accept same-sex marriage in the eyes of the law".
On 25 May 2011, Chancellor of Justice Indrek Teder requested that the Ministry of Justice introduce a civil partnership law, calling the non-recognition of same-sex relationships contrary to the Constitution of Estonia. Thereafter, partnership recognition again became an active political discussion in Estonia. The Reform Party and the Social Democratic Party supported introducing a partnership law, against the opposition of the conservative Pro Patria and Res Publica Union. The Centre Party supported a discussion on the issue. A bill was drafted in August 2012 by the Ministry of Justice, now led by Minister Kristen Michal, and was under public consultation until 1 October 2012. In March 2014, a parliamentary group began to examine the draft bill. The Registered Partnership Act () was submitted to Parliament on 17 April 2014. Seletuskiri kooseluseaduse eelnõu juurde On 22 May, the government expressed its support, and on 19 June 2014 Parliament rejected a motion to kill the bill at first reading in a 32–45 vote. The second reading took place on 8 October, where a motion to hold a referendum on the bill was defeated in a 35–42 vote and another motion to kill it was defeated in a 33–41 vote. The bill passed its final vote on 9 October in a 40–38 vote. It was signed into law by President Toomas Hendrik Ilves the same day and took effect on 1 January 2016. During public debate on the bill, a number of public figures came out as gay, including choreographer Jüri Nael, actor Risto Kübar, fashion designer Aldo Järvsoo, and singer Lauri Liiv.
+9 October 2014 vote in the Riigikogu Party Voted for Voted against Abstained Absent (Did not vote) Estonian Reform Party Estonian Centre Party Pro Patria and Res Publica Union – Social Democratic Party – Total381013
Registered partnerships (, ) grant couples some, but not all, of the rights, benefits, obligations and responsibilities of marriage. Partners are required to financially support each other, are granted similar property rights to married spouses and have the right to adopt their partner's children (i.e. stepchild adoption). Partnerships performed in other countries are legally recognised in Estonia. In February 2017, the Tallinn Administrative Court ruled that the Ministry of the Interior had to register the stepchild adoption of a same-sex couple. The Ministry announced it would not appeal the decision.Court: Adoption by same-sex couple must be entered in register Eesti Rahvusringhääling, 22 February 2017 In January 2018, the Tartu Circuit Court ruled that a lesbian couple in a registered partnership could adopt, overturning a lower court ruling which had rejected the couple's adoption application.
Implementation acts For several years after the passage of the bill, some implementing acts required for the law to enter into force were not passed by the Riigikogu. The conservative Pro Patria and Res Publica Union, which joined the Rõivas II Government after the March 2015 elections, argued that these acts should be passed in Parliament rather than by the cabinet, creating a dispute with the Reform Party and the Social Democrats. On 25 November 2015, Parliament rejected a motion to kill an implementing bill at first reading in a 41–42 vote. On 10 December, the chairman of the Legal Affairs Committee announced that the committee would not finish work on the bill and asked Parliament to begin the second reading before 17 December, before it adjourned on 11 January. This meant that the Registered Partnership Act would take effect without implementing measures, causing a number of legal loopholes and problems. Further readings were scheduled for the end of January 2016. In January 2017, the chairman of the Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament, Jaanus Karilaid, said that the implementing acts were unlikely to be adopted in the current term of Parliament, as passing these laws "would only result in new confrontations". At the same time, Karilaid suggested that Parliament did not have the numbers to repeal the underlying partnership law. Prime Minister Jüri Ratas echoed his suggestion, saying that the law would not be repealed by either the current nor the subsequent parliament. In September 2017, President Kersti Kaljulaid criticised the Parliament for failing to pass the implementing acts.
Because the Riigikogu did not adopt the implementation acts, same-sex couples in Estonia were in legal limbo, and increasingly turned to the courts in order to have their rights recognised. Numerous partnerships were performed in Estonia, but these unions were initially not entered into the population registry. A same-sex couple filed a legal complaint with the Tallinn Administrative Court in August 2016. In February 2017, the court ordered the government to pay monetary damages for failing to adopt the implementing acts. On 10 April 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that the law is in effect and should be enforced despite the lack of implementing measures.
On 17 January 2023, the Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling requiring registered partnerships to be entered into the population register. On 27 January, Minister of the Interior Lauri Läänemets signed a circular allowing same-sex registered partners to share a common surname. On 8 April 2023, the government formed following the March 2023 parliamentary election promised to pass an implementing bill. A bill implementing the partnership law passed its final reading in the Riigikogu on 20 June 2023. It was signed by President Alar Karis on 27 June, and took effect on 1 January 2024 alongside legislation opening marriage to same-sex couples. Registered partnerships remain in effect and available for both opposite-sex and same-sex couples.
Repeal efforts In February 2016, several politicians—mostly from the Estonian Free Party—introduced the Same-Sex Partnership Bill to the Riigikogu, aimed at repealing the Registered Partnership Act and creating a separate law for same-sex couples. Andres Herkel, spokesman for the Free Party, justified the need for the bill and criticised the partnership act, arguing it had "brought legal confusion to include same-sex couples and opposite-sex couples in the same law", "The including of the regulation concerning different-sex couples and same-sex couples in one Act is the basis of very many conceptual confusion." The bill was opposed by the Conservative People's Party, the Reform Party and the Social Democrats, and ultimately failed 14–55 in Parliament.
In October 2017, the Riigikogu voted against a bill seeking to repeal the Registered Partnership Act. The repeal bill, the Bill to Repeal the Registered Partnership Act (), supported by the Conservative People's Party and the Pro Patria and Res Publica Union, was rejected by a vote of 19–47 at first reading on 17 October. The Social Democrats, the Reform Party and the two independents opposed the bill, arguing it would "take rights away". The Centre Party was split, with some voting against the bill and others abstaining, whilst the Free Party mostly abstained. Lawmakers supporting the bill claimed that the Registered Partnership Act had "brought division within Estonian society".
+17 October 2017 vote in the Riigikogu Party Voted for Voted against Abstained Absent (Did not vote) Estonian Reform Party Estonian Centre Party – Social Democratic Party – – – Pro Patria and Res Publica Union – Estonian Free Party – Conservative People's Party – – – Independent – – –Total192015
Statistics 29 same-sex partnerships had been performed by August 2016. By October 2017, 59 cohabitation agreements had been concluded.
Immigration and residency rights