What countries you can (and can't) enter with an X gender marker in your passport
Consulates, tourism boards, and passengers answer your burning questions
Disclaimer: due to the fast-changing nature of the topic, information in this article is subject to change. Always refer to official guidelines before you travel. Travellers’ quotes featured in the piece are based on individual experiences and may not reflect current legislation.
The bureaucracy of travelling is a minefield most trans and non-binary people have to navigate at least once in their lives. And the worst bit is, it doesn’t start with the passport checks queue at the airport — it starts at home. Whether you are planning a friends’ weekend getaway, or are daydreaming about your next holiday…suddenly, the panic seizes you. Will I be safe in this country? What things do I have to hide about myself?
Will I be let in?
That last question is common to many TGNC folks (Trans, non-binary, gender non-conforming) whose legal documentation may result in further questions at the airport. One of those is the Gender X passport.
Do all countries issue Gender X passports?
Hah! I wish. As of 2025, only 17 countries officially recognise Non-Binary people, and legally allow them to be issued a Gender X passport. Right now, this type of passport has a bit of a Unicorn status — many people managed to get one before their countries stopped issuing them (ahem, the U.S.), and many others are either waiting for, or resigned to the fact they will never experience, its miraculous appearance.
But, even if the issuing country recognises your Gender X passport, that doesn’t mean travel authorities of another country will respect it. And that’s where the chaos begins.
Have you ever called a bunch of tourism boards and airlines to ask about their policies for trans and non-binary travellers? No? Well, I did it for you.
After listening to several sessions of acoustic guitar Britney Spears covers while on hold, followed by hours scouring the most legalese-ridden corners of the internet for answers, I have collated the following lists to give you an idea of which countries are usually a safe bet, which ones may need more vetting, and which ones have a clear record of not letting in TGNC travellers with any Gender X identification.
While airlines are the last ones to be clued up, consulates, tourism agencies, and fellow travellers like you, hold the knowledge we all crave.
So, straight into the mouth of the beast we go…
You shall pass 🧙🏻♂️
These are the countries letting in passengers with an ‘X’ Gender marker on their passport
Australia
Austria
Canada
Colombia
Costa Rica
Denmark
Finland
Germany
Greenland
Iceland
Malta
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Sweden
Thailand
“It’s my second time travelling from Canada to Germany after my top surgery. No problem so far.” (Ash T)
These countries say they let Gender X passport holders in
…but the reality is more complicated. For example, some only apply that to their own nationals, and many are ongoing significant changes regarding legal gender recognition (e.g. the United Kingdom)
Argentina
Bangladesh
Bulgaria
Chile
France
India
Ireland
Mexico
Nepal
“I went with my X passport to Uruguay […] I also had a layover in Panama so I guess it went through there too. no problems, no questions asked. super easy in my experience” (Anon)
Luxembourg
Pakistan
United Kingdom
Uruguay
“I travelled with my X passport […] in May/June to Sweden, Germany, France and the Netherlands and had no issues. It was only checked arriving in the airports in Sweden and Germany, as we took trains everywhere else.” (Liz F)
⚠️Even if the issuing country recognises your Gender X passport, that doesn’t mean travel authorities of another country will respect it
The Baddies List 🚫
These places are highly unlikely to let you in if you present a Gender X passport
Afghanistan
Bahrain
Belarus
Bhutan
China
Grenada
Hungary
Iran
Jamaica
Kazakhstan
Oman
“I tried going through the UAE three times since changing the gender marker on my German passport, and it’s not worked once. The last time, a border control officer pulled me aside and asked whether I was ‘trying to prove a point’ with my ‘made-up’ passport, and then just rejected my entry.” (Michaela W)
Qatar
Russia
Saudi Arabia
St. Lucia
Trinidad and Tobago
United Arab Emirates
Uzbekistan
The Absentees 🫥
Those places that, when asked the question ‘what is going on?’, are unlikely to know themselves
Albania
Algeria
Bolivia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Brazil
Cambodia
Czech Republic
Egypt
Estonia
Guatemala
Italy
Latvia
Libya
Lithuania
Morocco
Mozambique
“I’ve come back to my home in Arkansas from Europe recently, after living in Denmark for 6 years. I’m an American citizen, but they made my life impossible at the border because my passport had an X gender marker.” (Anon)
Nicaragua
Panama
Peru
Poland
Puerto Rico
Romania
Slovakia
“I did a road trip through Tunisia recently and had no problem at customs when I arrived. In general though, I felt quite unsafe as trans in other regards and wouldn’t go back again.”
South Africa
Spain
Tunisia
United States of America
Vietnam
⚠️To date, there has been no evidence of Gender X passport holders being denied entry into the U.S. However, travellers may face challenges at points of entry, including having to declare a binary F or M sex marker, according to World Travel Protection.
An important Post Scriptum: Africa
When it comes to the 54 countries that make up Africa, it’s tricky to establish how travelling as a gender non-conforming person will be received. A rule of thumb for those heading to the continent is: if the country considers homosexuality illegal, it is very likely to respond negatively to Gender X identification, and other expression of gender diversity.
According to a European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) briefing issued last May (2025), 31 out of 54 African countries criminalise same-sex consensual relationships. Of those, “several […] penalise the public expression of lesbian, gay, trans, intersex, queer and other non-heteronormative (LGBTIQ+ ) identities”.
Mozambique is one of those countries in which same-sex relationships are illegal, and yet in my numerous trips I have found it a queer-friendly, safe environment — and a gorgeous place.
Mozambique: a queer-friendly spot in sub-Saharan Africa
With its rich history, beautiful coastline and banging food, Mozambique is well worth a stop when visiting southeastern Africa.
While I don’t believe if you are trans and non-binary you should deprive yourself of the wonderful experiences Africa has to offer, be aware a Gender X passport might leave you vulnerable to abuses of power (such as bribes or incarceration).
Tools to help you prepare
Using tools like Equaldex can help you prepare if you’re heading to a destination you’re not familiar with, or simply want to learn more about the country’s customs and approach to LGBTQ+ issues.
Riskline collates travel safety data to come up with a safety score. The methodology is similar to TOTB’s Destination snapshots, where I assign a green / yellow / red light.
The 'we regret to inform you’ line…
Unfortunately, until the world starts spinning in the right direction, the only way to ensure you will be granted entry if you have an X gender marker is to have a second passport with a F/M marker.
Methodology
This article was the result of extensive research and painstaking pestering by yours truly. I reached out to airline carriers, tourism boards, border control agencies, consulted data aggregators (Equaldex, Riskline), read news and focus articles going back years, and finally asked travellers (on Reddit, Quora, and BlueSky) about their personal experiences.
Note: this article will be updated infrequently to reflect changes. Due to the fast-changing nature of the subject, information in this article may not always show the most up to date info. Always refer to individual guidelines before you travel. All travellers’ quotes featured in the piece are based on individual experiences.
I was able to enter (and re-enter) and get a student visa in Ireland with my gender X passport from the USA. My official Irish Residency Permit card is also gender X, but that is more so "gender unknown" status.
I was able to enter and leave Kazakhstan without a problem in 2025! They asked what my gender was male or female before letting me in though. I was also able to enter and leave Czechia and Slovakia in 2024 with an X passport, but that was through train, not flight.