The judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 25 November 2025 (C-713/23) significantly changes administrative practice in Poland with regard to the recognition of marriages concluded in other EU Member States, including same-sex marriages. The CJEU ruling is not a legislative amendment in the formal sense, but rather an interpretative change of considerable systemic importance.
The judgment does not introduce same-sex marriage into the Polish legal order. However, it imposes on the State an obligation to recognise the legal effects of such marriages if they were lawfully concluded in another EU Member State, in particular in the context of the right to family life and the freedom of movement.
Transcription of a marriage certificate after the CJEU judgment
Until now, civil registry offices have refused to transcribe same-sex marriages, invoking Article 18 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland and the public policy clause.
The CJEU judgment has triggered not only interpretative consequences but also a legislative response. Announced changes to the templates of civil status documents and forms are intended to enable the technical implementation of the ruling. Although at first glance this may appear to concern merely modifications to document fields, in reality the issue of transcription is of key importance for residence practice.
The transcription of a foreign marriage certificate into the Polish civil status register does not create a marriage, but confirms its existence within the Polish administrative system. In previous practice, refusal to transcribe was the first and fundamental link in a chain of subsequent refusals. The lack of an entry in the civil status register meant that the foreign national did not appear in official systems as the spouse of a Polish citizen. This, in turn, directly affected the assessment in residence permit proceedings.
The planned amendments aim to remove the formal obstacle resulting from the fact that current certificate templates provide exclusively for the model of marriage between a woman and a man. In administrative practice, this construction was used as justification for refusing to make an entry.
Once technical changes are introduced, the authority will no longer be able to invoke “systemic impossibility” as grounds for refusing transcription. Transcription therefore eliminates one of the most frequently raised formal arguments for refusal.
Same-sex marriage and a residence card in Poland
It is precisely in proceedings before the Voivodes (Provincial Governors) and the Head of the Office for Foreigners that the problem of “non-recognition” of same-sex marriages has so far been most severe.
In administrative practice, the lack of transcription of a marriage certificate led to the assumption that the marriage did not legally exist, and if it did not exist, the foreign national could not be recognised as the spouse of a Polish citizen or as a family member of an EU citizen.
The CJEU judgment changes the starting point of this argumentation.
The Court did not order Poland to amend the definition of marriage in family law, but indicated that a Member State may not refuse to recognise the legal effects of a marriage lawfully concluded in another EU Member State within the scope covered by EU law. In residence matters, that scope is broad, as it includes freedom of movement, protection of family life, and the effectiveness of EU law.
In practice, this means that an authority conducting proceedings for a temporary residence permit for the purpose of family reunification may no longer simply state that same-sex marriage is not provided for in the Polish Family and Guardianship Code.
After the CJEU judgment, the authority must examine whether the marriage was concluded in accordance with the law of the State where it took place, whether the relationship is genuine, and whether refusal to grant residence would lead to a disproportionate interference with family life.
Particularly important is the situation where one spouse is a Polish citizen and the other is a third-country national. In such cases, the application is usually based on Article 160 of the Act on Foreigners, which provides for the possibility of granting a temporary residence permit to a family member of a Polish citizen.
Until now, the lack of recognition of the marriage meant that the authority did not treat the foreign national as a spouse within the meaning of the Act. After the CJEU judgment, such an interpretation becomes problematic, as it leads to a situation in which a Member State effectively prevents an EU citizen from exercising the right to family life solely because they chose to marry in a State that allows same-sex marriages.
This does not, of course, mean that every person in a same-sex marriage will automatically obtain a residence card. The authority still examines negative premises, including the potential fictitious nature of the marriage or a threat to public order.
However, one fundamental issue changes: the sex of the spouses cannot in itself constitute grounds for refusal.
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In practice, it can be expected that the first decisions of the authorities will still be based on the previous line of interpretation, and that a full change in practice will occur only after judgments of the Voivodeship Administrative Courts and the Supreme Administrative Court. In appeal proceedings, it will be crucial to demonstrate that refusal to grant residence is not necessary for the protection of public order and leads to a disproportionate interference with the right to family life.
It is worth emphasising that the CJEU judgment has its strongest application to marriages concluded in EU Member States. If the marriage was concluded outside the EU, arguments based directly on EU law may be weaker. This does not change the fact that even in such cases, completely ignoring the family relationship becomes increasingly difficult to justify.
From a practical perspective, persons in same-sex marriages should be prepared to conduct their case in a more procedural manner than before.
A residence application should include not only documents confirming the conclusion of the marriage, but also strong legal arguments pointing to the obligation to interpret the provisions of the Act on Foreigners in conformity with European Union law. In the event of a refusal decision, it may be necessary to make use of appeal measures and subsequently seek judicial administrative review.
RYBOXX DESIGN - Robert Ryba