Dutch governing party wants gender-neutral passports

People who do not consider themselves a man or a woman should be given the option to specify an X as their gender on passports or other official documents. This is already possible in the Netherlands, but only after the court's intervention. D66 MP Lisa van Ginneken, herself a transgender woman, wants to change this through a law initiative.

Van Ginneken is thus following advice issued by the Dutch Council of State on an amendment proposal that she wished to submit to a new Transgender Act. According to the Council, such an amendment is not the right way to implement this gender-neutral registration.

The change has many consequences for other laws and regulations and their implementation, the Council of State said in an advisory report made public on Friday. For example, municipalities indicate that it costs quite a bit to implement the adjustments in regulations and systems. The Council considers the objections to be "no insurmountable obstacle" to introducing an X.

The D66 politician says on Instagram that she is therefore withdrawing her amendment and is working on a free member’s bill. "Because if I wanted to go through with my amendment, it would considerably slow down the whole law," she says. "The new Transgender Act (unfortunately without X) can therefore come into effect faster, and that is good news."

Dutch LGBT interest groups –such as COC and TNN– believe that non-binary people and other persons have waited too long for an appropriate registration. They are happy with the initiative of the D66 member. "About 4 per cent of the Dutch identify as neither man nor woman. The group experiences a lack of recognition and uncomfortable situations in daily life because official gender registration is only possible with an male or female."

The Netherlands is one of the few European countries that offer gender-free passports. In Germany and Austria, it is also possible. Still, people need a medical assessment to get an X on their passport. According to The Economist, it is only possible in Denmark to request a gender-free passport without any assessments.