Non-Binary Gender & Immigration in Canada: Understanding The X Gender Marker in Passports in Canada

Unfortunately, the Executive Order raises very real questions about whether Canadian passports or travel documents with the gender marker X will be accepted in the US. In response, we’ve compiled some information about non-binary gender markers in Canadian immigration, including answers to the following questions:  

Can Canadian Passports Have an X Gender Marker? 

Canada added a third gender descriptor to its passports in 2019, allowing individuals to choose M, F, or X as their gender marker. However, passport holders using the X gender marker may face additional restrictions while travelling outside of Canada, particularly in countries that do not recognize your gender.  

Here’s what the Canadian government recommends for passport holders  

“If your passport indicates “X” as a gender marker or if it indicates, “the sex of the bearer should read as X, indicating that it is unspecified,” you might face entry restrictions into some countries that do not recognize your gender. 
Check the Travel Advice and Advisory for each destination and transit country to find out if you could face entry restrictions. 

In some cases, even if your Canadian passport indicates an “X” gender marker, you may still be asked to provide binary sex information (either Male or Female) when travelling. 

If you have changed your name legally, you have to apply for a new passport. For more information on updating your passport, including updating your gender identifier, see Canadian passports. 

While the Government of Canada recognizes the “X” gender identifier, it cannot guarantee your entry or transit through other countries.” 

Will The US Accept Canadian Passports with an X Gender Marker? 

At the moment, it remains to be seen. But we are optimistic that the US will continue to accept travelers from Canada with an X gender marker.  

The reason we think this is that the White House Press Secretary informed a reporter at NOTUS, a non-partisan, non-profit news agency in the US, that existing passports with the X gender designation would remain valid in the US. Unfortunately, the change does mean that non-binary passport holders would not be able to use the X gender marker when it came time to renew their passports.  

Can Trans Individuals From The US Apply As Refugees in Canada?  

There are reports of broader narrative in the US that it’s simple to apply to Canada as a refugee if you are trans. While US citizens aren’t prohibited from making a refugee claim in Canada, the likelihood of that claim being accepted is quite low at the moment.  

The reason is that, to be deemed a refugee and to access the associated protections, a trans person would need to show that there is no region in the US that would be safe for them to live in. Given the extremely broad political views and social environments across the US, this is an extremely (likely prohibitively) high burden to overcome.  

We’ve seen one high-profile case in recent years after Daria Bloodworth was initially approved as a refugee from the US. The initial approval has since been quashed in Canadian courts, and the general consensus is that applying for protection as a refugee from the US to Canada as a trans person will be extremely challenging, even as Trump rolls back progress made for broader trans rights.