France asks citizens to state ‘gender assigned at birth’ for traveling to US

The French foreign ministry's advisory has ‘strongly recommended’ the visitors check the US Embassy website ‘for any changes or new measures adopted’.

Updated on: Mar 25, 2025, 16:43:05 IST

By HT News Desk

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France has asked its citizens travelling to the United States to state their gender that was ‘assigned at birth’ while applying for a visa or ‘Electronic System for Travel Authorisation’ (ESTA) in a modified advisory.

FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. President Donald Trump meet at the White House in Washington, D.C. (REUTERS)

While it is not a warning, like some other countries have issued for their nationals traveling to the US, the advisory issued by the French foreign ministry overnight on Monday to Tuesday has ‘strongly recommended’ the visitors check the website of the US Embassy in Paris ‘for any changes or new measures adopted’.

"In particular, for new visa or ESTA applications, it is important to note that a section has been added that requires applicants to state their 'gender assigned at birth'," AFP quoted the foreign ministry as saying.

Denmark recently went a step further in a travel advisory to its citizens, warning that transgender people could be barred from entering the US as a result of an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on January 20.

The Donald Trump executive order at the heart of the French travel advisory

Just hours after his inauguration as the US President for a second time on January 20, Donald Trump signed an executive order stating that the US government only recognises the gender assigned to a person at birth, ruling out the possibility of marking "X" to indicate a non-binary status or declaring a different gender.

Apprehensions are that the US could deny entry into the country if a person states any other gender on their paperwork. While the French government has said it did not know of any of its citizens being denied entry to the US because of a gender-related question, they don't seem to want to take a chance.

What is ESTA?

ESTA is an automated system to determine the eligibility of visitors to the US under its visa waiver programme.

An ESTA is valid for visits up to 90 days but it does not guarantee admission to US territory. The final decision is up to border officials on a visitor's arrival.

Nationals of dozens of countries, including France, are eligible for an ESTA.

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