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The Gender Recognition (Approved Countries and Territories) Order 2005

S.I. 2005/874 · Made 21 March 2005

Original text. legislation.gov.uk does not revise statutory instruments, so later amendments are not shown here. Changes made to it are listed under each provision when known.

GENDER RECOGNITION

Made 21st March 2005

Coming into force 4th April 2005

Whereas a draft of this Order has been approved by resolution of each House of Parliament;

Now, therefore, the Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 2(4) of the Gender Recognition Act 2004f1, and having consulted the Scottish Ministers and the Department of Finance and Personnel in Northern Ireland, hereby makes the following Order:

Annotations to the whole text

Footnotes

f1

2004 c. 7.

Contents

  1. 1Citation and commencement
  2. 2Approved countries and territories
  3. Signature
  4. Schedule APPROVED COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES
  5. Explanatory note

1Citation and commencement

This Order may be cited as The Gender Recognition (Approved Countries and Territories) Order 2005 and shall come into force on 4th April 2005.

2Approved countries and territories

The countries and territories set out in the Schedule are each prescribed as an “approved country or territory” for the purposes of the Gender Recognition Act 2004.

Signature

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State

Cathy Ashton

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State

Department for Constitutional Affairs

21st March 2005

APPROVED COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES

  • The Australian territories of Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory and the states of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia,

  • Austria,

  • Belgium,

  • Bulgaria,

  • the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan and the Yukon Territory,

  • Republic of Cyprus,

  • Denmark,

  • Estonia,

  • Finland,

  • France,

  • Germany,

  • Greece,

  • Iceland,

  • Italy,

  • Japan,

  • Latvia,

  • Luxembourg,

  • Malta,

  • Moldova,

  • Netherlands,

  • New Zealand

  • Norway,

  • Poland,

  • Romania,

  • Russian Federation,

  • Serbia and Montenegro,

  • Slovakia,

  • Slovenia,

  • South Africa,

  • Spain,

  • Sweden,

  • Switzerland,

  • Turkey,

  • Ukraine,

  • the District of Columbia and all of the states of the United States of America except for Idaho, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas.

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order prescribes the countries and territories that are approved by the Secretary of State for the purposes of the Gender Recognition Act 2004 (the “Act”).

Section 1(1)(b) of the Act permits applications for a gender recognition certificate on the basis of having changed gender under the law of a country or territory outside the United Kingdom. Applicants under section 1(1)(b) are required by section 3(5) to provide evidence that they have changed gender under the law of an “approved country or territory” outside the United Kingdom. An “approved country or territory” is defined by section 2(4) as one prescribed by order made by the Secretary of State.

Applicants under section 1(1)(b) need not meet the evidentiary requirements in sections 3(1) to 3(4), which apply to applications under section 1(1)(a) of the Act. These include a requirement to provide one or more medical reports from a registered medical practitioner or a chartered psychologist.