EU countries must issue identity documents that reflect the lived gender identity of transgender people, even if they have not transitioned, according to an opinion from the EU’s advocate general.
The case concerns a Bulgarian trans woman, assigned male at birth, who has undergone hormonal therapy and now lives as a woman.
When she sought to have her gender legally recognised, Bulgarian courts refused, citing national law that does not allow changes to sex, name, or personal identification.
The EU court’s advocate general argued on Thursday that preventing a trans person from having an identity document in accordance with their lived gender undermines their EU right to move and reside freely across the bloc.
The opinion is not binding, but the Court of Justice of the EU often follows the recommendations of its advocates general.
Should the EU court ultimately follow the advocate general’s opinion in the case, transgender people in the EU would be entitled to seek recognition of their lived gender identity from their country of origin, even without surgery.
A ruling on this case will be delivered at a later date, which has not yet been set.
EU countries are already obliged to recognise the legal gender a person has recognised in another member state, following a judgment from 2024.
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