EU court tells member states: gender marker changes are the law - LGBTQ Nation

"Because her life in Italy also depended on her Bulgarian documents, the lack of documents reflecting her lived gender creates an obstacle to her right to move and reside within EU member states. This mismatch between her gender identity and expression and her gender marker in her official documents leads to discrimination in all areas of life where official documents are required."

"All EU citizens' right to freedom of movement supersedes any member country's laws, the court said. EU law precludes legislation of a Member State which does not permit the amendment of the gender data in the civil status registers."

The EU Court of Justice ruled that Bulgaria's ban on transgender people updating their names and gender markers on birth certificates violates EU citizens' fundamental right to freedom of movement between member states. The decision addressed a case involving a Bulgarian trans woman living in Italy whose requests to update her Bulgarian identification documents were denied. The court determined that mismatches between gender identity and official documents create obstacles to freedom of movement and cause discrimination in essential areas including healthcare, employment, education, and housing. EU law supersedes individual member state legislation on this matter, establishing that all member states must permit transgender citizens to amend gender data in civil status registers.

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