Same sex spousal visas & gender-neutral passports

[Randy W]

Traveling to China on a Gender-neutral Passport should work, says former diplomat (now lawyer), Fred Rocafort.

from China Law Blog on Facebook 
https://www.facebook.com/ChinaLawBlog/posts/10158071615786109

Traveling to China on Gender-Neutral Passports

Quote

 

In other countries, hostile intent may be absent, but as a practical matter, their systems may not be designed to accept X gender designations. Online visa application forms or software used for immigration clearance might require a binary gender choice. Ham-fisted efforts by officials to find workarounds may result in uncomfortable situations.

These scenarios appear unlikely to play out in China. For one, Chinese citizens can change gender markers on their identity documents, though only in cases where the person has undergone gender reassignment surgery (变性手术). Though this is different than allowing self-selection without a need for surgery and issuing gender-neutral documents, it indicates at least a somewhat progressive approach to gender diversity by China.

In any case, even if gender-neutral identity documents are not available in China, authorities there can be counted on to respond in a practical way to the use of such documents by foreigners. It is important to remember that other countries have been issuing such passports for many years, and to date there have been no reports of problems in China (which, of course, does not mean there have not been any issues at all).

This said, travelers who have previously visited China using travel documents that indicate a different gender than that on their current documents might still face difficulties. In those instances, concerns on the part of officials may lead to probing questioning that could be discomforting to some travelers.