The Hong Kong government revised the Hong Kong ID cards sex entry policy to allow transgender individuals who have not completed full sex reassignment surgery to apply to change the gender marker on their identity cards.
In the past, the government required transgender people to undergo full sex-reassignment surgery before they were allowed to apply for an amendment to the gender marker on their Hong Kong ID cards. But in February 2023, the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal ruled that this requirement was unconstitutional, stating that requiring transgender people to undergo an invasive surgical intervention went too far because it may not be medically necessary.
With the revision, transgender people just have to make a statutory declaration that they have gender dysphoria, have lived as the opposite sex for at least two years before their application, and will continue to live as the opposite sex for the rest of their lives. Transgender individuals must have also received hormonal treatment for two years, and must confirm that they will continue hormonal treatment and submit blood test reports as required by the Director of Immigration.
Various countries have various requirements for legal gender recognition – e.g. in Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia and Ecuador, transgender people are allowed to change their gender based on their self-determination.
