The UK’s Gender Recognition Act (GRA) was passed in 2004 and provides for legal gender recognition for transgender individuals. The “standard” route requires obtaining medical documentation that can take months of waiting and $1,000 USD or more to obtain. On top of this, applicants must provide evidence that they have been living in their gender for at least two years — which must be from multiple points in time from that period. The requirements are so burdensome that less than 5% of transgender individuals in the UK have been able to obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC).
A streamlined process is available to transgender people who have received legal gender recognition in any country or territory on a pre-approved list. This is generally as simple as filling out an online application and sending in a sworn statement with a birth certificate or court order.
The UK's “Minister for Women and Equality”, Kemi Badenoch, who openly espouses hate for LGBTQ+ people, has said that many of these countries and territories no longer meet British standards. This is because they have followed the overall world-wide trend of improved rights for transgender people, which the UK opposes. The precise line between political scapegoating and bigotry on this issue is unclear.
In particular, 25 US states and DC are about to be removed from the list: California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
Many countries are also to be removed, and several with extremely poor human rights records are to be added.
To be removed (click/tap to expand)
- United States
- California
- Colorado
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Maine
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Montana
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wyoming
- Australia
- Northern Territory
- South Australia
- Tasmania
- Victoria
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- Denmark
- Finland
- France
- Greece
- Iceland
- Liechtenstein
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Mexico
- Moldova
- The Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Poland
- Russia
- Serbia
- Singapore
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Switzerland
- Uruguay
To be added (click/tap to expand)
- Belarus
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- China
- Cuba
- Georgia
- India
- Iran
- Kazakhstan
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Namibia
- Panama
- Sri Lanka
- Taiwan
Their justification [PDF]
Notes from the discussion in parliament:
This is a serious problem for transgender Americans living in the UK, as they are unlikely to be able to meet the documentation requirements for legal recognition.
Currently, having a Gender Recognition Certificate does not affect things like access to appropriate toilets and other gender segregated facilities, but the British government has been attempting to limit this to only those with GRCs or remove such rights entirely. Removing the fast track option first could be a strategy to limit international political backlash.
A further concern is that British law does not have a clear way to legally determine the gender of anyone without a British birth certificate or GRC. Americans from affected states could have their gender challenged even if they aren’t transgender.
I note that in their justification, they explicitly call out that they won’t accept documents for nonbinary people. This is likely at least partially in response to my lawsuit seeking legal recognition as nonbinary.
It doesn’t seem like there is any way to stop this without international political pressure — which was brought up as a concern during discussion in parliament. Let’s create some. If you’re an American, please contact your congressional representatives about this as soon as possible.
For your convenience, you can use the following as a starting point:
The British government is about to remove access to a streamlined recognition process for transgender Americans who live in the UK. I ask that you take steps to express policy concerns to the British government in this matter, and that you do so quickly — swift action may make them think twice before following through.
In particular, please bring this to the attention of Jessica Stern, the Department of State’s LGBTQI+ Special Envoy. The official UK government contact regarding this issue is public.correspondence@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.
The UK’s Gender Recognition Act was passed in 2004 and allows transgender individuals to have their gender legally affirmed. As was common at the time, it required a process involving extensive documentation. To avoid further burdening people who had already gone through similar legal processes in their home countries, a streamlined process was included for them. Eligibility is determined by a pre-approved list.
On December 6th, a draft order was published, which would remove 25 states and DC from the list: California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
Most of these states were removed for “no longer meeting British standards”. In other words, they modernized their legislation to align with emerging international best practices.
Again, I urge you to take action immediately — these changes are otherwise likely to pass within the next few weeks.