Civil union in Belgium

Legal recognition of; same-sex couples
Same-sex marriage
Belgium; Canada; Netherlands; Norway;	South Africa; Spain; Sweden;
	Performed in some regions
	United States (CT, IA, ME, MA, NH, VT*);
	United States (CT, IA, ME, MA, NH, VT*);
	Formerly performed
	United States (CA);
	United States (CA);
	Recognized, not performed
	Aruba (Dutch only); Israel; Netherlands Antilles (Dutch only); United States (DC, NY);
	Aruba (Dutch only); Israel; Netherlands Antilles (Dutch only); United States (DC, NY);
Civil unions and; registered partnerships
Andorra; Czech Republic; Denmark; Finland; France; Germany; Greenland; Hungary;	Iceland; Luxembourg; New Zealand; Slovenia; Switzerland; United Kingdom; Uruguay;
	Performed in some regions
	Argentina (C, RC, RN, VCP); Australia (ACT, TAS, VIC); Mexico (COA, DF); United States (CA, CO, DC, HI, NJ, NV, OR, WA, WI); Venezuela (ME)
Recognized, not performed
	Isle of Man (UK only); Mexico (Mex. only: all states, not federally);
Unregistered co-habitation
Argentina; Australia; Austria; Brazil;	Colombia; Croatia; Israel; Portugal;
	Recognized in some regions
	United States (MD);
	United States (MD);
Status in other jurisdictions
Albania; Bolivia; Bulgaria; Cambodia; Chile; China (PRC); Costa Rica; Cuba; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; El Salvador; Estonia; European Union; Faroe Islands; Greece; Honduras; India; Ireland; Italy; Japan;	Jersey; Kosovo; Latvia; Liechtenstein; Lithuania; Mexico; Nepal; Nigeria; Panama; Philippines; Poland; Romania; Russia; Serbia; Slovakia; South Korea; Taiwan; Uganda; Venezuela; Vietnam;
Notes
	*Laws passed, but not yet taken effect.
	*Laws passed, but not yet taken effect.
See also
	Same-sex marriage; Worldwide status of same-sex unions; Timeline of same-sex marriage; Civil union; Domestic partnership; Registered partnership; Listings by country
	Same-sex marriage; Worldwide status of same-sex unions; Timeline of same-sex marriage; Civil union; Domestic partnership; Registered partnership; Listings by country
LGBT portal
	v • d • e

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The act of 23 November 1998 granted statutory cohabitation (Dutch: wettelijke samenwoning; French: cohabitation légale) in Belgium. The act gives limited rights to registered same-sex and opposite-sex couples by inserting a Title V-bis on statutory cohabitation in the Belgian Civil Code and by amending certain provisions of the Belgian Civil Code and the Belgian Judicial Code. However, persons who are not a couple can also make a declaration of statutory cohabitiation; this includes relatives.

The law was legally published on January 12, 1999. It went in force on January 1, 2000, according to a royal order signed on December 14, and published on December 23, 1999. The right to marry was later extended to same-sex couples in 2003 with the same rights and responsibilities as opposite-sex married partners. Neither partner needs to be a Belgian citizen.

[edit] Exceptions

Belgian law since 2006 provides for presumed and/or actual paternity and maternity for any person (regardless of gender) of a married person who gives birth during their marriage. There are also provisions for joint parental responsibility and for adoption of children, by any couple (a single person and/or same-sex or opposite sex couples). This is an odd law because this only came into effect since 2006, three years after same-sex marriage became legal.