While Poland remains one of the most restrictive countries in Europe in terms of LGBT rights, Donald Tusk’s government legalized the administrative recognition of same-sex marriages concluded abroad at the end of May. A decision which follows the condemnation of the Court of Justice of the European Union, according to which Warsaw was infringing on the freedom of movement of these couples in the EU by withdrawing their rights acquired in another country. Enough to encourage many Polish homosexual couples to organize their marriage abroad in recent months, while the union of same-sex couples remains prohibited in Poland.
Report from our correspondent in Warsaw
Just a few hours by train to leave the country, and to say yes for life. With his companion Tobiasz, Zachariasz boards a regional train, heading to Görlitz on the other side of the border with Germany. A couple for five years, they had never dared to dream of marriage: “Concretely, if Tobiasz or I were to be hospitalized, the other would not be able to obtain any information about our state of health, because in the eyes of the Polish state, who are we to each other? Simple strangers. This is why it is important to get married as soon as possible. »
Arriving there, they find their witnesses who themselves made the round trip from the Poland on the day. Roksana, Zachariasz’s best friend, hopes that gay couples like theirs will one day have the opportunity to get married in their own country: “The distance adds an obstacle. For us, it’s still okay, it wasn’t too far away, but it would be better if it could take place in Poland, I’m for it! »
In total, the ceremony lasted less than an hour. For them, these alliances are synonymous with security and sign the start of a new life, unimaginable for Tobiasz even a year ago: “He told me yes, this time officially. This means that today he is no longer just my boyfriend, but my husband. »
Also readPoland: Warsaw ready to recognize certain marriages of same-sex couples
Strongly increasing demand
And if this dream was able to come true, it is partly thanks to Katarzyna Kuca. Sitting in the corner office of her apartment in Wroclaw, the entrepreneur has been helping couples like Tobiasz and Zachariasz get married abroad for three years. She takes care of the administrative part, but also ensures on-site logistics.
Allow only three to six months of time between the first request and the day of the wedding. Ceremonies with or without guests, followed or not by a party, its teams deployed throughout Europe adapt to the requests of couples: “We organize weddings in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Portugal and Madeira. Of course, there are other countries that allow equal marriage, but these five countries do not require documents that are not possible to obtain in Poland. Every year, we had around 20 to 25 couples who called on us, and now we receive almost 50 requests per month, and this figure is only increasing. And what you see on the boards are nothing but couples planning to get married in Denmark. »
Since the verdict of the Court of Justice of the European Union in November, it has had to recruit five new people to swell the ranks of its teams.
Also readPoland: Parliament votes for “closest person” status, a step forward for same-sex couples
