COPENHAGEN—The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has recently revised its travel advisory for transgender individuals traveling to the United States. This comes in response to similar advisories issued by other European nations, including Germany and Finland, which have flagged potential challenges for transgender travelers entering the U.S.
Denmark’s new guidance suggests that transgender persons should seek advice from the U.S. Embassy before their journey. According to the update published on the ministry’s website on Friday, applicants for an ESTA or a visa to the United States are currently presented with only two gender options: male or female. The ministry advises individuals with a passport bearing the gender marker ‘X,’ or those who have undergone gender changes, to consult with the U.S. Embassy for advice on the next steps.
This advisory arrives shortly after a new policy initiative in the United States, endorsed by President Donald Trump, which specifies that federal government documents should identify sex strictly as male or female. This includes other federal areas such as prison assignments and passports. Consequently, the U.S. State Department no longer issues travel documents with an “X” gender marker, often preferred by nonbinary individuals, and refuses to amend existing passport gender entries from the birth-assigned sex.
The Danish branch of LGBT+ Denmark has influenced these changes, as confirmed by Susanne Branner, the group’s leader. In discussions with Danish radio station RadioIII, Branner explained that her organization had prompted the foreign ministry to update its advisory, given the number of Danish citizens who have legally altered their gender. These individuals may face uncomfortable situations at U.S. entry points or even be refused entry because their passport details conflict with their birth-assigned gender.
“We are concerned about the risk for transgender individuals or those with an ‘X’ marker of being denied entry to the U.S. We seek definitive guidance on this issue,” Branner voiced in her conversation with RadioIII.
Germany and Finland have also updated their travel advisories concerning the U.S. for transgender citizens. The German foreign ministry, for instance, has issued guidance indicating that travelers with a passport marked ‘X’ or differing from their birth-assigned gender should consult U.S. diplomatic missions to verify entry requirements. Finland echoes similar advice, stressing the need for U.S.-bound travelers to confirm entry conditions with the U.S. authorities should their passport gender not align with their birth-assigned sex.