COPENHAGEN (AP) 鈥 The Danish foreign ministry has changed its U.S. travel advisory for transgender people, following other European countries such as Germany and Finland who suggest they may face difficulties when trying to enter the United States.
The wrote on its website that transgender people should contact the U.S. Embassy before traveling to the United States.
鈥淲hen applying for an ESTA or visa to the United States, there are two gender designations to choose from: male or female,鈥 the Danish travel advisory stated in an update Friday.
鈥淚f you have the gender designation X in your passport, or you have changed your gender, it is recommended that you contact the U.S. Embassy prior to travel for guidance on how to proceed," the ministry advised.
While the travel advisory does not explicitly mention the new U.S. administration, it comes only weeks after President Donald Trump signed calling for the federal government to define sex as only male or female and for that to be reflected on official documents such as passports and policies such as federal prison assignments.
The U.S. State Department has preferred by many nonbinary people, who don鈥檛 identify as strictly male or female. The department also stopped allowing people to change the gender listed on their passport or get new ones that reflect their gender rather than their sex assigned at birth.
The head of the transgender group LGBT+ Denmark, Susanne Branner, told Danish radio RadioIII her group had reached out to the country's foreign ministry earlier in the week and asked for the update of the advisory.
She said there are a few thousand people in Denmark who have changed their legal gender and who might encounter unpleasant situations at airports when trying to enter the U.S. or could even be denied entry because their passports do not reflect the gender assigned at birth.
鈥淚f you are transgender or have an X in your passport, can you risk being denied entry? We would like concrete answers to this,鈥 Branner told RadioIII.
Other European countries have also changed their official advisories for members of the transgender community in a reflection to the situation in the U.S.
The foreign ministry put out an advisory earlier this month, telling 鈥渢ravelers who have the gender entry 鈥榅鈥 or whose current gender entry differs from their gender entry at birth鈥 to contact a U.S. diplomatic mission in Germany 鈥渂efore entering the country and find out the applicable entry requirements.鈥
, too, advises prospective U.S. travelers on its foreign ministry homepage that if their 鈥渃urrent gender as recorded in their passport differs from the gender they were assigned at birth, U.S. authorities may deny entry. It is recommended that you check with U.S. authorities in advance for entry requirements.鈥
