Scotland allows conversions of overseas same-sex civil partnerships

As of today (November 2), same-sex civil partners can now marry in Scotland, even if they were registered in other parts of the UK or overseas. (We’re looking at you, Northern Irish couples!)

Scotland, which introduced gay marriage in December 2014, has amended the existing law, allowing civil partners registered outside Scotland to convert their union to a marriage by having a ceremony in the country.

Previously, only civil partnerships registered in Scotland could be converted. This requirement is still in place for marriage conversions in England and Wales.

The former legislation essentially offered no conversions for Northern Irish civil partners, since same-sex marriage is still not recognised in Northern Ireland. Stormont is voting on the matter today, but prospects don’t look good because of a petition of concern requiring enough support from both nationalist and unionist MLAs.

Commenting on Scotland’s new conversion policies, minister for local government Marco Biagi told KaleidoScot, “We are sending a powerful message out about the kind of country we are – one which is incredibly proud that same sex couples can show their love and commitment to each other by getting married.

“By passing historic legislation last year, and now extending it to include those who had a civil partnership outwith Scotland, we are demonstrating to the world how importantly Scotland views equality.”

Tim Hopkins, director of the Equality Network, said the welcome change was “a small but important piece of unfinished business from the equal marriage legislation last year”.