France has modified its official advice to nationals travelling to the United States, warning they must now state their gender assigned at birth in visa or ESTA applications.

Advertisment

It stopped short of warning, as Denmark did recently, that transgender people could be barred from entering the US as a result of a decree signed by President Trump on January 20.

But potential visitors are "strongly recommended" to check the website of the US embassy in Paris "for any changes or new measures adopted", the French foreign ministry said in an update to its travel advice published overnight on Monday to Tuesday.

The Trump decree states that the US government only recognises the gender assigned to a person at birth, ruling out the possibility of marking "X" to indicate a non-binary status, or declaring a different gender.

Advertisment

Also read: ‘Paedophile’ ex-surgeon Joel Le Scouarnec admits to sex abuse of 299 victims in France, says 'I have a duty to tell the truth'

"In particular, for new visa or ESTA applications, it is important to note that a section has been added that requires... applicants to state their 'gender assigned at birth'," the foreign ministry in Paris said.

ESTA, which stands for "Electronic System for Travel Authorisation", is an automated system to determine the eligibility of visitors to the US under its visa waiver programme.

Advertisment

An ESTA, valid for visits up to 90 days, does not guarantee admission to US territory, however.

The final decision is up to border officials on a visitor's arrival.

Nationals of dozens of countries are eligible for an ESTA, including France.

Also read: France would be ‘speaking German’ without US: White House slams French politician over Statue of Liberty demand

The ministry said it had no knowledge of any French national being denied entry to the US because of a gender-related question.

Disclaimer: This story has been published from a news agency feed with minimal edits to adhere to WION's style guide. The headline may have been changed to better reflect the content of the story or to make it more suitable for WION audience.