The enactment of the Marriage Equality Act makes Thailand the first country in Southeast Asia and the third in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage, after Taiwan and Nepal

Hundreds of same-sex couples are tying the knot across Thailand on Thursday as the country becomes the first in Southeast Asia to recognize marriage equality.

The kingdom's same-sex marriage bill was passed in a historic parliamentary vote last June, the third place in Asia to do so after Taiwan and Nepal. The law was ratified by King Maha Vajiralongkorn in September and came into effect after 120 days.

Thailand's monumental Marriage Equality Act has come into effect on Friday allowing LGBTQ couples to tie the knot. | ITV National News

But in the 2019 election which returned Thailand to civilian rule, a new, youthful reformist party called Future Forward, which fully supported equal marriage, did unexpectedly well. They won the third-largest share of seats, revealing a growing hunger for change in Thailand.

Thailand on Thursday became the first country in Southeast Asia to hold legal same-sex weddings, with LGBT groups aiming to mark the occasion with more than 1,000 marriage registrations in a single day.

Thailand's historic same-sex marriage equality law came into force on Thursday, making it the first country in Southeast Asia and third territory in Asia after Taiwan and Nepal to legalise marriages of same-sex couples.

Hundreds of people began registering their marriages at a mall in Bangkok, as Thailand became one of the few places in Asia to legalize same-sex unions.

LGBTQ+ couples celebrate after they receive official marriage certificates, as the country's marriage equality bill comes into effect following a royal endorsement which effectively makes Thailand Asia's third territory to legalise same-sex unions, in Bangkok, Thailand, January 23, 2025. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa

“Equal marriage has truly become possible with the power of all,” said former Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, who was on hand for the mass wedding and was premier when the landmark legislation passed last year. 1,832 couples across the country registered marriages under the new law Thursday, according to the Thai Interior Ministry.

It is a day many in Thailand's LGBTQ+ community have long been waiting for, as couples celebrate a law giving them the same legal rights as married heterosexuals.