Gender Recognition for Expatriates from the United Kingdom

Application for a Gender Recognition Certificate (Standard Track Application) using the Case by Case Basis

by Kathy Noble

(The Gender Centre advise that this article may not be current and as such certain content, including but not limited to persons, contact details and dates may not apply. Where legal authority or medical related matters are cited, responsibility lies with the reader to obtain the most current relevant legal authority and/or medical publication.)

You are eligible to apply for Gender Recognition if you are:

• at least 18 years of age; and
• have lived in your acquired gender or have been recognised under the law of a country or territory outside the United Kingdom as having changed gender.

Things to consider before applying for Gender Recognition:

If you are successful in your application for Gender Recognition, the law will recognise you as having all the rights and responsibilities appropriate to a person of your acquired gender. A successful application may affect some aspects of your life. These could relate to matters such as your pension entitlements, your benefit entitlements or your marriage.

The Gender Recognition Panel is aware that some applicants living overseas face difficulties with the evidence needed to satisfy the Gender Recognition Act 2004, especially the requirement to submit medical report/s by a General Medical Council (G.M.C.) registered Practitioner.

To alleviate this difficulty, the Gender Recognition Panel is prepared to consider, on a case by case basis, reports by a G.M.C. registered practitioner practising in the field of gender dysphoria who has read the medical report/s by non-G.M.C. medical practitioners and is able to confirm the information and opinion contained in the report(s). This does not affect the statutory requirements for reports from two registered medical practitioners in support of applications.

Guidance for married people or those in a Civil Partnership: Section 4(3) Gender Recognition Act 2004 requires the panel on considering an application for a Gender Recognition Certificate to issue an interim and not a full G.R.C. where the applicant is married or a civil partner. The reason for this provision is that if the marriage is not terminated or the civil partnership ended the issue of a full G.R.C. would have the effect of creating a same sex marriage or opposite sex civil partnership which are not allowed under U.K. law.

It is recognised that some couples do not want to end their existing relationship on the grant of a full G.R.C.. They would need to end their existing marriage or civil partnership on the issue of the interim certificate and then enter into a new civil partnership or marriage, as appropriate, on the granting of the full G.R.C. This is for applicants for a Gender Recognition Certificate (G.R.C.) and Birth Certificate (B.C.) residing outside of the U.K.. All usual requirements included in the application are the same with the exception of the following.

We now have two G.R.C. registered doctors to contact in Australia. One is Dr. Steinbeck in Sydney and the other is Dr. Kielty in Brisbane. Please email me with any queries or telephone me on (07) 3286 9155

To achieve a Case by Case Basis application you need to:

• Find a General Medical Council (G.M.C.) registered G.P. practising in the country that you now reside in. Don't forget to note the doctor's G.M.C. registration number. The G.P. has to confirm that you have or have not had S.R.S. If you have, what were the procedures used? If not, then why not. Possible acceptable reasons are health considerations, financial problems or choice. You must have lived in your preferred gender for a minimum of two years and must undertake to continue to do so for the rest of your life.
• Collect all paper work from your Psychiatrist concerning your Gender Dysphoria (G.D.) and from your surgeon concerning your S.R.S.. You also need to include a copy of your General Practitioner's report.
• Send all of these as copies to Dr. James Barrett for him to collate the details into a report for the Gender Recognition Panel (G.R.P.) in Leicester U.K. Ask for his report to be sent to you. His charge is Sixty Pounds Sterling.
• When you have Dr Barrett's report you send it and the G.P.s report with Standard Application (obtainable from the G.R.P.) to G.R.P. with their fee if applicable.
• All details are on the G.R.P. website .
• The address for Dr. James Barrett is:
  Gender Identity Clinic,
  Claybrook Centre,
  37 Claybrook Road, London,
  W6 8LN, Great Britain

Polare is published in Australia by The Gender Centre Inc. which is funded by the Department of Community Services under the S.A.A.P. Program and supported by the N.S.W. Health Department through the AIDS and Infectious Diseases Branch. Polare provides a forum for discussion and debate on gender issues. Advertisers are advised that all advertising is their responsibility under the Trade Practices Act. Unsolicited contributions are welcome, though no guarantee is made by the Editor that they will be published, nor any discussion entered into. The editor reserves the right to edit such contributions without notification. Any submission which appears in Polare may be published on our internet site. Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor, The Gender Centre Inc.I, the Department of Community Services or the N.S.W. Department of Health.