Denmark tells transgender citizens to get advice before US trips

COPENHAGEN — Denmark said on Thursday (March 20) it has begun advising transgender people to contact the US embassy in Copenhagen before visiting the United States, amid concerns that President Donald Trump's gender policies could cause problems with their travel documents.

The announcement came a week after Finland issued a similar warning in the wake of Trump's executive order that the United States will recognise only two unchangeable sexes — male and female.

The Danish foreign ministry did not refer directly to Trump's order but said the US Electronic System for Travel Authorisation application form only has two genders to choose from, male or female, and this could cause complications.

"If your passport has the gender designation X or you have changed gender, it is recommended to contact the US embassy prior to travel for guidance on how to proceed," the updated Danish travel advisory page read on Friday.

Under Danish law, citizens can apply to have their gender designated as X in their passport if the application "is based on an experience of belonging to the other gender, that the person concerned is intersex, does not identify as either male or female".

A spokesperson for the US embassy in Copenhagen said on Friday that visa applicants with an X marker in their passport would receive a visa that reflected the applicants' biological sex at birth.

The spokesperson referred to the US Customs and Border Protection for information regarding foreign nationals entering the United States without a visa, such as through the Visa Waiver Program.

Finland updated its advice page on March 14 to warn travellers: "If the applicant's current sex on their passport is different from their sex confirmed at birth, the US authorities may refuse entry".

Trump's order, issued on his first day in office, requires the US government to use the term "sex" rather than "gender", and mandates that identification documents, including passports and visas, be based on what it described as "an individual's immutable biological classification as either male or female".

A spokesperson for the Danish foreign ministry said no Danish citizens had been refused entry to the US or detained since Trump took office.

Germany this week updated its travel advisory for the United States to emphasise that a visa or entry waiver does not guarantee entry for its citizens after several Germans were recently detained at the border.

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Source: Reuters