France updates official advice for travellers to US

The French Foreign Ministry has updated its travel advice for citizens visiting the United States in relation to new rules for the visa and ESTA (tourist visit) applications.

The Ministry noted that applicants for these documents must use their birth gender when completing the document. 

“For new visa or ESTA applications, it should be noted that a section has been added requiring, under the Presidential Decree of January 20, 2025, that “sex at birth” be indicated,” the Ministry states.

Transgender individuals may have an ‘X’ in this section of their passport however US President Donald Trump has ordered US officials to only recognise ‘male’ and ‘female’ as gender responses after coming to office at the end of January.

The Ministry also advises citizens planning to travel to check the US Embassy in Paris website for any further updates. 

However, no heightened travel warnings for visitors to the US have been issued on the matter. 

Several countries notify citizens of change

It joins several other countries including the UK, Canada, and EU counterpart Germany in advising citizens about the new rules. 

Fellow EU country Denmark has gone further, warning transgender people they may be barred from entering the US. 

Finland’s foreign ministry has also warned that visitors may be refused entry if their travel documents contain different information than their gender assigned at birth.

The ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) is a visa-waiver for short-stay travellers (less than 90 days) to the US. 

It is similar to the UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) and the EU’s incoming European Travel Information and Authorisation System (Etias). 

You can read about the EU and UK counterparts in our explainer articles below. 

Read more: What are the rules for the UK’s new border security ‘ETA’?

Read more: Etias travel permit for EU: April 2027 earliest date for enforcement