The upper house of the Thai parliament on Tuesday passed legislation providing for same-sex marriage, paving the way for Thailand to become the first country in South-East Asia to allow same-sex marriage, local media reported.
The Khaosod newspaper reported that the law was passed by a large majority, with 130 senators voting in favour, four against and 18 abstentions.
The lower house had already passed the legislation, also by a large majority. The law still has to be signed by King Maha Vajiralongkorn and can then go into force 120 days after publication in the Royal Gazette.
Thailand will then join Taiwan and Nepal as the only Asian countries with the right to same-sex marriage.
The new legislation provides for the words "men" and "women" and "husband" and "wife" to be replaced in the civil code by words like "persons" and "marriage partner" with the intention that same-sex couples will have the same legal, financial and medical rights as heterosexual married couples.
Thailand has to date had a life partnership law that did not include full legal married rights. The country has long been seen as liberal on sexual matters and open to homosexuals and transgender people. It is also a popular holiday destination for tourists from the LGBTQ community.