German government issues advisory for trans, nonbinary people traveling to U.S.A.

The German government has issued a travel advisory specifically for trans and nonbinary individuals planning to visit the U.S.A., according to ‘Washington Blade’.

As reported by the Rheinische Post, a German newspaper, on March 5, the German Federal Foreign Office highlighted the executive order by President Donald Trump that prevents the State Department from issuing passports with “X” gender markers.

“The relevant gender identity of the applicant at the time of birth is the relevant one,” the advisory from the German Federal Foreign Office states. It advises travellers with an “X” gender marker or whose current gender entry does not match their birth gender to consult the relevant U.S.A. diplomatic mission in Germany to clarify entry requirements before traveling.

The Gender Self-Determination Act in Germany, which took effect last November, allows trans, nonbinary, and intersex individuals to legally change their name and gender through a simple declaration at a registrar’s office, followed by a three-month waiting period.

Following Trump’s executive order, Secretary of State Marco Rubio instructed State Department personnel to “suspend any application requesting an ‘X’ sex marker and do not take any further action pending additional guidance from the department.”

On February 5, Trump issued an executive order that prohibits trans women and girls from participating in female sports teams. According to The Guardian, Rubio later instructed American consular officials to deny visas in situations where applicants are suspected of misrepresenting their purpose of travel or gender.

“You should consider whether this misrepresentation is material such that it supports an ineligibility finding,” Rubio wrote in a February 24 directive, obtained by The Guardian.

The directive also instructs consulate officials to issue permanent visa bans to those deemed to have misrepresented their birth sex on visa applications and to apply the Immigration and Nationality Act section 212(a)(6)(C)i) — known as the “permanent fraud bar” — against trans applicants.

Such visa bans, unlike regular denials, result in a lifetime exclusion from the United States, with limited possibilities for waivers, according to The Guardian.

A group of trans and nonbinary individuals filed a federal lawsuit against Trump’s passport directive last month.

In response to the German government’s travel advisory, the Lesbian and Gay Federation of Germany (LSVD), a German LGBTQ and intersex rights organisation, stated that it “strongly condemns the Trump administration’s latest attack on transgender and nonbinary people.”

“By erasing legal recognition of trans identities and forcing all official documents to reflect only sex assigned at birth, the U.S. government is actively endangering the rights and safety of trans and nonbinary individuals,” the LSVD noted. “The German government’s travel advisory warning trans and nonbinary travelers of potential entry issues is a necessary step — but it cannot be the only response.”

The LSVD also asserted that Germany and the European Union “must make it clear: LGBTQ+ people are safe in the EU, and we will not tolerate the rollback of fundamental human rights anywhere in the world.”

“Our commitment to human rights must also be reflected in foreign policy,” the LSVD added. “This includes using diplomatic channels to demand that the U.S. government respects trans rights, ensuring protections for asylum seekers, and strengthening international alliances to push back against anti-LGBTQ+ extremism.”

The advocacy group concluded its statement by urging the German government and EU institutions to strongly oppose these policies. “Democracy and human rights cannot be selectively defended — when trans rights are attacked, all human rights are at risk.”