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Group of refugees parades at Copenhagen Gay Pride 2015; Danish Passport
The Nordic nation joins a growing list of countries warning trans folks visiting the U.S.
Denmark has joined a growing list of countries issuing travel advisories to transgender travelers looking to visit the U.S. Donald Trump issued an executive order curtailing the rights of the transgender community in January, which has led the U.S. to cease issuing passports with X gender markers and to not allow gender changes on renewed passports.
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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Denmark issued the advisory on its page dedicated to Danish citizens traveling to the U.S. The foreign ministry did not advise transgender folks to avoid travel to the U.S. but warned that they should contact U.S. embassy officials if their passport’s gender marker does not match their sex assigned at birth.
“When applying for an ESTA or visa to the United States, there are two gender designations to choose from: male or female,” the ministry wrote on its travel website. “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 ministry is responding to Trump’s executive order titled Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government, although the order is not referenced in the advisory. It was one of the dozens of orders signed on Trump’s first day in office of his second term.
While the order primarily bars trans women and girls from competing in women's sports and using changing and restroom facilities that align with their gender identity, it also sets new guidelines for documentation and gender markers.
“The Secretaries of State and Homeland Security, and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, shall implement changes to require that government-issued identification documents, including passports, visas, and Global Entry cards, accurately reflect the holder’s sex, as defined under section 2 of this order; and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall ensure that applicable personnel records accurately report Federal employees’ sex, as defined by section 2 of this order.”
With the advisory, Denmark joins a growing list of nations warning transgender citizens about passport issues they may encounter when visiting the U.S. Finland, Germany, and the United Kingdom have issued similar warnings, the Associated Press reports.
For its part, the U.S. Department of State last year issued an advisory for U.S. citizens considering travel to Denmark, warning visitors to “exercise increased caution in the Kingdom of Denmark due to terrorism” on its website.
