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The Department is advising travellers who have an "X" marker on their passport to contact the US Embassy in Dublin "for further details on specific entry requirements". Alamy Stock Photo
United States
Department of Foreign Affairs updates advice for Irish transgender people travelling to US
The Department states that US authorities have indicated that visa applications “should reflect the traveller’s biological sex at birth”.
THE DEPARTMENT OF Foreign Affairs has updated its advice for transgender people planning to travel to the United States.
It comes after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to stop the country’s Bureau of Consular Affairs from issuing identification documents with an “X” marker for non-binary people.
Irish people intending to travel to the US must apply for entry permission by obtaining a visa or through the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA).
The Department of Foreign Affairs’ website states that US authorities have indicated that these documents “should reflect the traveller’s biological sex at birth”.
It goes on to advise travellers who have an “X” marker on their passport or whose sex on their passport differs from sex assigned at birth to contact the US Embassy in Dublin “for further details on specific entry requirements”.
Since September 2015, trans people in Ireland can apply to have their preferred gender legally recognised by the State. Anyone who legally changes their gender receives a gender recognition certificate from the Department of Social Protection.
Anyone who wishes to re-apply for a passport in their preferred gender will need to submit their gender recognition certificate and their birth certificate as re-issued.
They must also supply documentary evidence that they have been using their preferred name continually for at least two years.
A number of European countries, including The Netherlands, Denmark, Germany and Finland have all updated their travel guidance for citizens planning to travel to the US.
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German media has reported that three German nationals were detained while trying to enter the US this month.
The Department of Foreign Affairs advises Irish citizens intending to travel to the US to “familiarise themselves with US entry requirements”. It states that if an Irish citizen is detained, they have the right to contact the Embassy of Ireland or the nearest Consulate General of Ireland.
In his first days in office, Trump declared that the US would only recognise two genders: male and female.
The US State Department’s website states: “We will only issue passports with an M or F sex marker that match the customer’s biological sex at birth.”
It states that anyone who submits a passport application requesting an X marker may experience delays in getting their passport or receive a request for more information.
“We will issue you a new passport that matches your biological sex at birth, based on your supporting documents and our records about your previous passports.”
In February, US actress Hunter Schafer, who is trans, shared on social media that the gender marker on her new passport was changed to male despite submitting identity documents marked female.
She said her gender on her birth certificate hadn’t yet been changed to female, leading her to believe that “the agencies who are in charge of passports… are now required to cross reference birth certificates.”
“This is the first time this has happened to me since I changed my gender marker… and I do believe it is a direct result of the administration our country is currently operating under,” she said.
Despite her concerns, Schafer was defiant. Trans people “are never going to stop existing. I’m never gonna stop being trans, a letter in a passport can’t change that,” she said.
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