Gender Identity Changes Must Be Recognized Across E.U. Borders, Court Rules

A man who changed his name and gender identity in Britain successfully challenged to have them legally recognized by Romania.

The European Union’s top court on Friday said governments in the bloc must recognize legal changes to a person’s gender identity and name made in other E.U. nations, a ruling that rights campaigners say could give transgender people more freedom to live and work around the region.

The decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union came after a British-Romanian transgender man challenged the Romanian government in a Bucharest court in 2021 after it rejected an application to change his gender identity on official documents.

The man, Arian Mirzarafie-Ahi, was born in Romania, where had he had been registered at birth as female. He moved to Britain in 2008 and became a naturalized citizen.

According to the ruling, Mr. Mirzarafie-Ahi, 32, legally changed his identity while in Britain, adopting a new first name in 2017 and obtaining a certificate recognizing his male gender identity in 2020.

The next year, he requested a new Romanian birth certificate identifying him as male. But Romanian authorities rejected his application, according to the ruling, insisting he complete Romania’s process for a gender identity change through that country’s courts. The case was referred to the Court of Justice, which ruled that Romania must recognize the gender identity change Mr. Mirzarafie-Ahi made in Britain.

Before the ruling, Mr. Mirzarafie-Ahi had been required to travel to Romania using his Romanian passport, which did not reflect his gender identity, or enter as a non-European Union citizen. European groups campaigning for transgender rights have said that forcing Mr. Mirzarafie-Ahi to travel with documents that did not reflect his gender identity or his appearance was a violation of his fundamental rights.

“This disparity between his Romanian and British documents exposes him to humiliation and discrimination,” said Accept Romania, a group that supported him in the case.

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