Published on 1 February 2026

United States of America: Family, marriage and partnerships

Find out about family, marriage and partnerships if you are planning to emigrate to the USA. The FDFA can provide you with information about this.

Family reunification

Information on visa options for joining family in the United States is available on the following website:

Registering marriages and partnerships

Marriages contracted abroad under civil law are recognised in Switzerland and must be registered with the Swiss civil status authorities. Swiss nationals who get married abroad are required to register their marriage with the competent Swiss representation abroad. The documents must be submitted to the diplomatic representation together with an apostille. The latter will forward the declaration to Switzerland free of charge.

Find out what you need to do as early as possible

Before you get married, contact your Swiss representation to find out what you will need to do to make sure your marriage is recognised and registered in the civil status register without delay.

Partnerships

Since June 2015, same-sex couples have the right to marry in all the states of the US. Federal civil law grants special privileges to married couples. These include lower tax rates, simplified family reunification and special, advantageous social security regulations. For example, surviving spouses or parents residing in other states or abroad are entitled to social security benefits under certain conditions. Couples joined in civil unions or domestic partnerships are not entitled to such benefits.

Marriage-like legal recognition of relationships

There are various forms of marriage-like legal recognitions of relationships that exist alongside marriage. Examples here include civil unions and domestic partnerships. The given state's family law stipulates the rights and obligations of such partnerships and governs how couples can register them.

• Civil unions are marriage-like contracts, usually between persons of the same sex. The most similar institution codified in Swiss law is registered partnership. Their legal effects vary from state to state.
• A domestic partnership is formed by two people of the same or opposite sex who live together, managing a single household, but are not legally married or partnered. In some states, domestic partners have certain rights. These rights differ according to the given city, county and state.

Recognition in the US of marriages/partnerships performed abroad

Federal law governs the recognition of marriages performed abroad, whereas the given state's law governs marriage-like institutions such as civil unions and domestic partnerships. Swiss registered partnerships are recognised as civil unions in many states. Yet the given state may have rules since 2015 stipulating that partnerships must be converted to marriages. You will need to look into this matter.

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