In Slovakia, a case is being considered that could change the rules for same-sex couples, especially for foreigners. The country's Constitutional Court has asked the EU Court for clarification: is it legal to take away a Slovak citizen's citizenship because of a same-sex marriage (manželstvo) contracted abroad? The story began with a Slovak citizen who married in the United Kingdom and later obtained British citizenship. Slovak authorities took away his passport because they did not recognize the same-sex marriage as a sufficient reason to keep citizenship. For a different-sex couple in the same situation, an exception would have been made.
The core issue: dual citizenship and same-sex marriages
According to the law adopted in Slovakia, citizens can keep their Slovak passport if they get citizenship of another country through marriage or long-term residence. However, the Slovak Ministry of the Interior refused to apply this exception, arguing that the country does not recognize same-sex marriages. As a result, the man lost not only Slovak citizenship but also EU citizenship.
The root of the problem lies in the Slovak Constitution, which since 2014 defines marriage exclusively as a union between a man and a woman. This is the provision the authorities refer to when refusing to recognize same-sex marriages registered outside the country.
The role of European courts
Currently, two European courts are considering this case simultaneously. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has already sent a request to Slovakia demanding explanations regarding the complaint. At the same time, the Slovak Constitutional Court suspended its own proceedings, ongoing since 2024, and referred the question to the EU Court. The Court must answer whether EU legislation allows taking away a person's citizenship because of a same-sex marriage if citizenship is preserved in the case of a different-sex marriage.
Slovakia is not new to such disputes. In 2018, the EU Court ruled in the Coman case, which concerns the right of residence for same-sex spouses but does not require recognizing marriages as such. Despite this, in August 2026, the Slovak Ministry of the Interior refused to register the marriage of a Slovak couple who married in Austria in 2020. Prime Minister Robert Fico publicly stated that Slovakia will not register same-sex marriages contracted abroad, citing the constitution that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
