The same-sex life partnership law in Montenegro came into force on July 15th, 2021, and Budva has become a hit destination for same-sex weddings.

In the first year when the law entered into force, four LGBTQ couples said the fateful "yes", while in 2022, 27 same-sex marriages were concluded.

Make their love official

Of those, as registrar Žana Kapa confirmed to us, three people from Bosnia and Herzegovina entered into a same-sex marriage.

- Two girls from Bosnia and Herzegovina have married, while the third person from Bosnia and Herzegovina has a mixed marriage, i.e. the other partner was not from BiH, but from another country. However, such marriage concluded in Montenegro in Bosnia and Herzegovina means nothing because it is not recognized due to the absence of a law on entering into a same-sex partnership. They come to us, probably, to make their love official in some way, but legally in Bosnia and Herzegovina they do not have the status of married partners - Kapa stated for "Avaz".

In addition to citizens of Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, same-sex marriages were also concluded in this coastal city by citizens of Serbia, Croatia, North Macedonia, Russia, Ukraine, Great Britain...

For this year, currently, more weddings have been announced than last year.

Closed space

- The Law is still "fresh" in enforcement, so people do not yet have the freedom to publicly enter into such a partnership. All this happens in some closed rooms, offices, where the two of them appear with two witnesses. It is interesting that the mother of one person from Bosnia and Herzegovina was at the wedding. There are almost no other guests, they still don't dare to do it somewhere public and transparent, like open spaces, beaches, hotels, restaurants. But it is expected that there will be many more couples this year. Currently, foreign citizens have more of that freedom - Kapa told us and added:

- We married only one couple, two men, they were foreigners, outdoors. It was on a ship, near Budva, and it was a very beautiful ceremony.

What is the procedure

In terms of procedure, same-sex marriages require a birth certificate, a certificate of unmarried status, a certificate of citizenship and a passport.

- If we are talking about foreigners who do not come from the countries of the region, the papers must be translated by an authorized court interpreter - explained Kapa.