UK Considers Trans Passport Change

Transgender citizens of the UK may be allowed to opt-out of identifying themselves as male or female on passports, should a proposed rule change be approved.

Currently everybody with a passport must identify themselves as male or female on the document. But the Home Office has begun a consultation on changing the system to allow a category for the small minority of people who are unable to tick either box. Supporters claim it will avoid problems at passport control for people whose appearance does not match the sex stated on their passport. But some Home Office officials have expressed concern that it could create more difficulties for the already stretched UK Border Agency.

Passports and other photo IDs often create problems for transgender folks whose appearance doesn't seem to match the perceived gender of their name.

RELATED: Australia has just approved a change similar to the one being considered in Britain.

Passport Ownership By State

(Via - Andrew Sullivan)

Surgery No Longer Required To Change Gender On U.S. Passports

If you'd like to change the listed gender on your passport, the U.S. State Department has dropped its requirement that you must have already had sexual reassignment surgery.

The policy, which goes into effect Thursday, allows a gender change with a certification from an attending physician. The doctor's certification must confirm only that the passport applicant has undergone treatment for gender transition. Limited-validity passports for applicants who are in the process of gender transition also will be available under the policy. Previously, individuals had to provide documentation from a surgeon that sex reassignment surgery had been performed on them, according to the National Center for Transgender Equality.

Passports Now Required To Enter Mexico & Canada - 70% Of Americans Can't Go

As of yesterday you now need a passport to enter Canada and Mexico - rendering 70% of the country unable to visit even our closest neighbors.

American travelers entering the U.S. by land, air or sea from Mexico, Canada, Bermuda or the Caribbean are now required to carry a U.S. passport. "The basic, number one rule is that everyone should get a passport," said Vince Gargiulo, owner of Cruise Planners, a Gainesville travel agency. "That would be the safest way to travel." The new regulations also will apply to cruisers, with an exception for "closed loop cruises," which travel within the Western Hemisphere and depart from and return to the same port. Although closed loop cruisers are not required to have a passport to travel, Gargiulo still recommends that everyone get a passport as soon as possible. If someone on a cruise fell ill and needed to return to the U.S., they would not be able to. "It's an easy way to travel," Gargiulo said. "It's easier than having all these documents with you - like your birth certificate." Travelers also have the option of obtaining a passport card, a cheaper, wallet-size card that can be used to enter the U.S. from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean at land and sea border crossings. The passport card cannot be used for international air travel.

I finally renewed my passport last year - five years after expiration.