The Civil Partnership Act 2004 (c. 33) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, introduced by the Labour government, which grants civil partnerships in the United Kingdom the rights and responsibilities very similar to those in civil marriage. Initially the act permitted only same-sex couples to form civil partnerships. This was altered to include opposite-sex couples in 2019. Civil partners are entitled to the same property rights as married couples, the same exemption as married couples regarding social security and pension benefits, and also the ability to exercise parental responsibility for a partner's children, as well as responsibility for reasonable maintenance of one's partner and their children, tenancy rights, full life insurance recognition, next-of-kin rights in hospitals, and others. There is a formal process for dissolving civil partnerships, akin to divorce.
Schedule 20 recognises certain overseas unions as equivalent to civil partnerships under the laws of the United Kingdom. Same-sex couples who have entered into those unions are automatically recognised in the United Kingdom as civil partners. In England and Wales, overseas marriages (but not other types of relationship) are automatically recognised as marriages by the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013; the same is true in Scotland by the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014, and in Northern Ireland by the Marriage (Same-sex Couples) and Civil Partnership (Opposite-sex Couples) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2019 (SI 2019/1514).
Schedule 20 is subject to adjustment, and additional overseas relationships may be added as more jurisdictions across the world bring in civil partnership or same-sex marriage legislation. On 5 December 2005, the original schedule of the 2004 act was amended to include several other countries and states. On 31 January 2013, a further 50 types of overseas relationship were added to the schedule. Relationships not specified in the schedule may also recognised as civil partnerships if they meet the conditions of section 214 of the act, therefore many of the unions listed below as not listed in schedule 20 may nonetheless be recognised.
Overseas relationships recognised under Schedule 20, as amended
Andorra: unió estable de parella (stable couple union)
Buenos Aires: unión civil (civil union)
Australian Capital Territory: civil partnership
New South Wales: registered partnership
Queensland: registered relationship
Tasmania: significant relationship
Victoria: registered partnership
Austria: eingetragene Partnerschaft (registered partnership)
Belgium: marriage, cohabitation légale/wettelijke samenwoning/gesetzliches Zusammenwohnen (statutory cohabitation)
Brazil: marriage, união estável (stable union)
Manitoba: common-law relationship
Nova Scotia: domestic partnership
Quebec union civile/civil union
Colombia: unión de hecho (de facto union)