NEW Zealand, Australia’s near-neighbour in the Pacific, does not appear to permit intersex people to choose an X for their passport. In fact, there is no mention of intersex at all in the web page and web site that was pointed out to us by a New Zealand contact.

Gender ‘X’ Passports

If you are a transgender person and you have not obtained a declaration from the New Zealand Family Court, your passport may be issued showing an ‘X’ in the gender field.

If you want your passport to display an ‘X’ in the gender field, you will need to complete a statutory declaration:

• indicating how long you have been living in your current gender identity, AND
• acknowledging that if your gender identity is changed through the New Zealand Family Court process, then a new application and full fee will be payable, in order to have your new gender identity recorded in your passport.

This practice is in accordance with the standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) which is the United Nations agency that sets universally accepted specifications for international travel documents.