Rainbow Path was recently invited to the Cross Agency Rainbow Network (CARN) Conference. We really enjoyed listening to and connecting with other Rainbow people of colour.
In our presentation, we talked about:
the immense barriers Rainbow asylum seekers and refugees face at each step of our journey to safety and resettlement in Aotearoa
the gaps in laws and policies, and
the lack of information and awareness about our rights and needs
We highlighted the extra challenges trans and intersex asylum seekers and refugees face, especially in accessing the essential services we are entitled to, due to the lack of a useable and recognised ID with our correct name and gender marker.
Thank you, CARN organisers for reaching out to Rainbow Path and helping our member with lived experience to travel there. We value having this platform to raise our issues with people working for government agencies.
However, the challenge is to see this translated into action, working in partnership with Rainbow asylum seekers, refugees, migrants and ethnic communities. We hope to see more meaningful participations from our communities in legal and policy space.
Rainbow Path had the pleasure and privilege of speaking at Nelson Pride last month. We were part of their “ Speak Out” event that featured Pecha Kucha style presentations from other rainbow organisations like InsideOut as well as other influential people from the community.
We enjoyed being part of the event and learning more about the organisation’s work as well as connecting with the wider community.
In our presentation, Our speaker spoke about their own journey and how being a trans person of colour and an asylum seeker affected that journey.
We also discussed our work with asylum seekers and the importance of having a peer led community where people with lived experiences lead the conversation around their rights. We highlighted the problems that occur when we are excluded from the conversation.
We hope that privileged allies and service providers receive our message and really take it on board. We hope that they use their experiences and connections to guide the people with lived experience and the community to get to where we should have been, had we not faced such discrimination and marginalisation in this white colonised and Eurocentric world.
Yesterday, the Department of Internal Affairs updated its website to announce that it is “deferring further work on developing a process for people born overseas to register their gender”.
Rainbow Path has conveyed to the Department the huge level of disappointment and frustration of our members, who are left without having useable IDs. This impacts on every aspect of our lives.
People born overseas, living here in Aotearoa, are frequently asked to show an identification document (ID) to prove our immigration status and eligibility for publicly funded services. As people of colour, it is more likely someone will assume we are born overseas and request to see our ID. Yet most trans asylum seekers and refugees, and many migrants, do not have any photo ID with our correct name and gender marker.
Today’s decision is a huge backward step from commitments the department and the previous Minister have made to trans refugees, asylum seekers and migrants.
The Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationship Registration Bill was passed in December 2021, giving trans and intersex people a simple process to amend the gender on a NZ birth certificate. In her media release at the time, Minister Tinetti committed to find solutions for Rainbow Path members and others who do not hold a NZ birth certificate:
“I would like to acknowledge that there will be disappointment from overseas-born New Zealanders as they will not be able to access self-identification at present. This is because the changes only apply to New Zealand birth certificates at this stage. Work will be done to address this, starting with further consultation with those affected. This will only further strengthen the milestone we have achieved today,” Jan Tinetti said.
Consultation by the department in 2022
Since the Bill was passed, the department has continued to consult trans and intersex people. Partly, this was to help finalise details about the self-identification process for NZ birth certificates that would be put in regulations before the new law comes into effect on 15 June 2023.
In addition, because the Bill does not cover trans and intersex people born overseas, the department started to consult trans asylum seekers, refugees and migrants about the IDs we currently have and aren’t able to update, as the initial step towards exploring potential solutions.This two-stage consultation process was clearly spelt out in the department’s engagement strategy, on its website:
“13. Work to resolve the issues for people born overseas will progress on a different timeline. This timeline will be published in due course. A second round of engagement on policy options is intended in 2023, providing another opportunity for people to share their views. While solutions to these issues will not come into force alongside the self-identification process, Government has committed to pursuing a solution.”
Based on these commitments, Rainbow Path members put in months of voluntary work encouraging trans and intersex people born overseas to share their experiences living in Aotearoa with no useable ID. Rainbow Path collated those stories into its submission to the department in July 2022.
Reneging on those commitments
As the screenshot below shoes, at lunchtime yesterday, Wednesday 5 April, the department’s online FAQ about this work (the BDM review) still said “We are committed to pursuing a solution for people born overseas”.
Half an hour later, that sentence had been removed from the FAQ.
.After a short introduction, the department makes four main points:
Feedback from consultation showed the issues are complex and there is no clear solution.
Two small improvements are planned over the next 12 months, enabling trans and intersex people to amend the gender on their Citizenship Certificate and their Refugee Travel Document.
Any further work on potential solutions is deferred until the department develops digital identity tools, so the department can “assess how digital identity tools could contribute to solutions”.
There are no timeframes for the development of digital identity tools and any further updates will be provided on this department webpage.
Rainbow Path’s response to that update
Rainbow Path has been advocating for a solution for over five years. Over that time we have written many submissions, documented the experiences of our members, met with politicians, and even helped the Department of Internal Affairs consult with our communities.
The next promised step was to seek feedback on potential solutions. That was the agreed process to talk through the pros and cons of different options and clarify potential solutions. The department has unilaterally decided to give up on that process.
The two operational improvements that the department has signalled will take place over the next 12 months will have very minimal additional benefit for Rainbow asylum seekers and refugees or migrants.
The department had already committed previously to ensuring that citizens would be able to update their gender marker on a Citizenship Certificate, rather than just being issued an Evidentiary Certificate with the corrected details. (See for example page 12 of the government’s response to the Working Group for Reducing Barriers to Changing Registered Sex.)
Asylum seekers often have to wait years to be accepted as a refugee and aren’t eligible for a Refugee Travel Document (RTD) until then. These proposals will make no difference to them.
Once we are accepted as a refugee, it is already often possible for us to amend our gender on a Refugee Travel Document (RTD). Formalising this policy does not fix the problem that we cannot change our name until we are permanent residents, meaning all our documents (including our RTD) are of little use because they have our wrong name. Finally, the RTD is seldom recognised as proof of one’s identity, even by government agencies.
Rainbow Path’s faith in the potential of digital identity tools is minimal at this point, given the documents currently required to change details online. For example, it was very hard for our members to even get a Vaccine Pass during the COVID-19 pandemic. We would have valued the opportunity to be consulted by the department about potential digital identity tools, to provide a reality check of how they may or may not work for trans and intersex asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants.
Now we are left with no meaningful progress, an indefinite waiting time while the department explores whether digital identity tools might help, and no formal consultation processes with our communities.
Rainbow Path has told officials at the Department of Internal Affairs that it is vital that any ongoing work in the digital identity space involves meaningful consultation with trans asylum seekers, refugees and migrants born overseas.
Rainbow Path is asking for your support as we keep pushing for essential legal protections for trans and intersex refugees, asylum seekers and migrants including:
an Identity Document that recognises who we are and
making sure trans and intersex people are explicitly included in the Human Rights Act and in hate speech and hate crime laws.
Please keep fighting alongside us until those rights exist for all trans and intersex people.
We should never settle for legal protections that only apply to people born here
These are the words refugee members of Rainbow Path were planning to share at the Tāmaki Makaurau Trans Solidarity protest today. The speeches needed to be cut short, and the crowd of supporters stretched back way beyond the capacity of the sound system. So Rainbow Path is sharing these words via our blog and FB page instead.
Rainbow Path members and ally holding placards at Auckland Pride March, Feb 2023
Tena koutou katoa. Ngā mihi mahana kia koutou.
We are here today as members of Rainbow Path – a peer support and advocacy group for trans, intersex and queer asylum seekers and refugees living here in Aotearoa.
As asylum seekers, refugees and migrants of colour, we have all fled persecution overseas – we know what hate looks like. We understand on a very personal level that trans communities aren’t the only group being targeted by fascist extremism.
We have been forcibly displaced because it was unsafe to be trans or intersex in our country of origin, and many of us were also persecuted because of our ethnicity or religion, including for being Muslim.
It is important to us that today’s solidarity protest is empowering for trans activists and our communities. That we acknowledge all the work we do to support each other and to push for change, and that many have done before us. And that being here together helps build alliances for the hard work ahead – including all the activism it will take to get laws that actually protect us from hate crimes and hate speech.
It’s also important that we celebrate every hard-fought win – because it’s a victory not just for us, but also for trans activists facing the same coordinated, well-resourced, anti-trans extremist campaigns all over the world.
The new simpler process for amending your gender on a NZ birth certificate is one significant victory. It only happened because our communities fought very hard for it. The principles behind that fight are vital for us here and for trans people all around the world – they include self determination, bodily autonomy, and depathologisation.
We have the right to define our own gender. As international human rights law affirms – our gender is one of the most basic aspects of self-determination, dignity and freedom.
We have the right to decide what, if any, medical steps we want to take to affirm our gender.
And we cannot be required to take any medical steps in order to amend our identity documents.
The new BDMRR Act is huge progress for people born here in Aotearoa – but it offers nothing for people born overseas.
Most of us come from countries where it is impossible for trans and intersex people to change our name or gender marker on our original passport. And that passport from our country of origin with outdated name, gender marker and photo is the only ID we have, to use for many years while living in Aotearoa.
It is only after we are granted residency that we can change our name here, which can take more than 5 years for trans asylum seekers. And for many migrants, it may never happen.
As people of colour, we are constantly asked to show our passport to prove who we are, our immigration status, and our eligibility to access services here. And when service providers see an ID that no longer matches our appearance, they immediately suspect we are trying to commit identity fraud.
As a result, it is extremely difficult or impossible for us to do everyday things, like opening a bank account, rent a home, accessing healthcare and medication, applying for a benefit, applying for a job, enrolling to study, or even just to pick up a courier parcel, or buy a drink at the supermarket if we are under age. We are often denied services and humiliated.
This is also extremely unsafe for us, because many of us are still at risk of abuse and discrimination from our family and our ethnic and religious communities here and overseas; racist, xenophobic, Islamophobic, transphobic and queer phobic hate groups here; and state agencies from our country of origin, who could persecute our family back home.
Not having a safe and useable Identity Document means even after we have fled persecution and are living in Aotearoa, we still have to fear for our safety every time we show our ID, and struggle to prove who we are every time we access essential services. Imagine living your life like this for five or ten and more years. How is New Zealand upholding our fundamental human rights it has taken oath to protect?
Today we are reminding you that the fight for self-determination and the right to legal gender recognition is still not won for trans and intersex people living in Aotearoa but born overseas.
Rainbow Path has been pushing for an official New Zealand ID that has our correct photo, name and gender marker for the past five years. We need all of your support to keep up the pressure right now – so that something so vital to our daily life, wellbeing and safety is not crossed off the government’s list of “bread and butter”.
It means a lot today to see this solidarity. And maybe it took the obvious fascist links for people to make the connections between white supremacy, anti-trans extremism, and the relentless misinformation directed at our communities. Don’t forget those links. Because it’s impossible to address racism without addressing trans and queer phobia, and it’s impossible to address trans and queer phobia without addressing racism.
Support us when we push for legal protections for trans people – whether that’s an Identity Document that recognises who we are, or making sure we are explicitly included in the Human Rights Act and in hate speech and hate crime laws.
And keep fighting until those rights exist for all of us, including trans asylum seekers, refugees and migrants – We should never settle for legal protections that only apply to people born here.
Rainbow Path members and allies showing their placards at the Trans Rights Rally during Auckland Pride Festival, Feb 2023
The government has announced its final decisions about the new process for trans and intersex people to amend their gender on a New Zealand birth certificate – and that applications open in less than four months, on 15 June 2023.
This law change, recognising our right to self-determination, is a huge win for trans and intersex people born in Aotearoa. However, as Rainbow Path and many other people said in their submissions on the Bill, there needs to be an equivalent solution for asylum seekers, refugees and migrants born overseas too.
The Department of Internal Affairs’ (DIA) FAQ about the law change, acknowledges the gaps: “From the submissions received on the Act, it’s clear that it’s important to the transgender and intersex community to find a way for overseas born people to register their gender. We are committed to pursuing a solution for people born overseas.”
Rainbow Path made a 35-page submission in response to DIA’s consultation document. Our submission was based on our long-term work with trans, non-binary and intersex refugees and asylum seekers. We also included information from the people who participated in our two community consultations on 16 June 2022 (14 people) and 21 June 2022 (13 people), and from DIA’s two consultations with people born overseas, where we participated and helped to facilitate one of the breakout group discussions.
It is clear from the experiences of trans and non-binary asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants that it is vital to have a New Zealand issued ID with your correct name, gender and photo.
In this news articleon 12 February 2023, a Rainbow Path member described the extensive impact on their everyday life of not being able to change their name in New Zealand until they were a permanent resident, and their ongoing struggles using a Refugee Travel Document that is not well recognised or safe for them to use.
The reporter approached government agencies for comment. Rainbow Path welcomes Te Whatu Ora’s statement confirming that the ‘preferred name’ on forms does not have to reflect the name on a person’s passport, as long as the person’s identity has been clearly established.
“Te Whatu Ora takes a practical approach to this in recognition of the sensitivity of the issue… . People can change both their name and gender on the NHI system by contacting their regular health professional or the Ministry of Health contact centre.”
In the same article, the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages was reported as saying there were no plans to change the eligibility requirements for a name change under the Act. “However, we are working towards improving the ability of people in New Zealand to share their identity information digitally.”
This does not solve the problem we are still facing. Rainbow Path members also struggle to use current online identity verification options, including RealMe, when they have no official identity document with their correct name and gender.
Being able to change your name is not an optional extra for people born overseas – as often it can take more than 5 years to get residency, and at least another 5 years to be able to get an NZ passport, and for some people this may never happen.
Rainbow Path will continue to advocate for legal gender recognition for trans and intersex people born overseas – and needs your support to make sure we are not left behind.Read our submission to learn more about why trans and intersex asylum seekers, refugees and migrants need an official NZ ID with our correct name, gender and photo.
If you are a trans, non-binary, or intersex person who was born overseas, please register for one of these sessions hosted by the Department of Internal Affairs. They take place THIS THURSDAY 30 JUNE and on TUESDAY 5 JULY, from 6.30 – 8pm.
The new BDMRR Act only introduces a self-ID process for people born in Aotearoa. These online sessions are the first steps towards finding a solution so that overseas born people can register their gender in Aotearoa.
Rainbow Path members will be participating in both sessions. Register now as spaces are limited – we would love to see both calls fully booked. There are a few details below and more when you click on the registration link.
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Information supplied by the Department of Internal Affairs
“A self-identification (self-ID) process for birth certificates will be available from mid-2023. This is significant for transgender, non-binary, intersex, and takatāpui New Zealanders, who will be able to amend the sex on their birth certificate without going through an intrusive and costly process.
At present, the new self-ID process does not apply to people born overseas who don’t have a New Zealand birth certificate.
Government are committed to pursuing a solution to enable overseas born people to register their gender. If you were born overseas, we’d love to hear your perspective to help us find a solution.”
Overseas born trans, non-binary and intersex people need our correct name and gender recognised in Aotearoa too!
All overseas born trans, non-binary or intersex people living in Aotearoa are invited to this community discussion, especially People of Colour – including people on temporary visas such as international students, migrant workers, refugees, and asylum seekers.
Are you a trans, non-binary or intersex person living in Aotearoa but born overseas?
Have you had difficulties getting your correct gender and name recognised on official NZ documents or records?
Rainbow Path warmly invites you to join our community discussion on Zoom, that will be held over two evenings in June. You are very welcome to come to either or both sessions:
If you can’t make those times, you can still register to send us any info or questions – and we will send you an email update after the sessions.
Rainbow Path has been lobbying hard for trans, nonbinary and intersex asylum seekers and refugees to be able to get our correct name and gender on Identity Documents (IDs) available to us – the Certificate of Identity and the Refugee Travel Document. We worked with other community organisations, especially Gender Minorities Aotearoa, on that campaign.
This is so we have an ID we can use in our daily life, including to open a bank account, get an IRD number, or when we have to prove who we are to a healthcare provider, an employer, landlord, WINZ or other government agencies, etc. Without a usable ID, every aspect of our life is made significantly harder.
We recognise that the issues are broader than the Certificate of Identity and the Refugee Travel Document. They also affect many other trans, non-binary and intersex migrants, especially those who are unable to get their gender and name recognised in their country of origin.
We understand that the barriers we face also differ depending on our immigration status – whether we are permanent residents, or citizens, or on temporary visas such as student visas and work visas. Racism also affects how often many of us are asked to show IDs.
Last year a law was passed that will make it easier for trans and non-binary people born in NZ to change the gender on their NZ birth certificate. The government is looking at different solutions for people born overseas to have our correct gender and name recognised here. The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) is consulting with trans, non-binary and intersex migrants, asylum seekers and refugees in late June and early July.
Before our communities head into that government consultation process, Rainbow Path is organising two community discussions with others from our trans, non-binary and intersex migrant and refugee communities. We want to:
Identify the range of different barriers we face, and
Explore the potential solutions we need in order to have IDs we can use here in Aotearoa.
This way, we will be able to better support each other and raise constructive ideas during the government’s consultation process.
All overseas born trans, non-binary or intersex people living in Aotearoa are welcome, especially People of Colour – including people on temporary visas such as international students, migrant workers, refugees, and asylum seekers.
None of the personal details you share on these community discussions will be shared with anyone not on the Zoom call. You can also join the Zoom calls with your video off if that feels safer for you. Everyone on the call will be reminded how important it is to not share information that could disclose another person’s identity. It will be your choice whether you then join the later calls with people from the Department of Internal Affairs and what you choose to share then.
We are also asking a few allies/resource people to join the Zoom calls, because they support people born overseas to change details on NZ documents.
Please note: This Zoom call won’t focus on changing details on overseas documents as the New Zealand government has no power to change those. However, sometimes getting an official document issued by the New Zealand government may help with that process. That is how some permanent residents have used a Declaration as to Sex from the New Zealand Family Court. That option will disappear when the new law starts in June 2023, so permanent residents will also need a new solution.
If you have any more questions, you can contact us on rainbowpath@protonmail.com
All people have the right to legal gender recognition, whatever their immigration status. Rainbow Path strongly believes that Aotearoa can be a country where that is a reality for every trans, non-binary and intersex person living here. Everyone should be able to obtain official New Zealand documents with their correct name and gender.
Placard made by a Rainbow Path member
People who follow our Facebook page will know the huge support there has been for Rainbow Path’s campaign linked to the BDMRR Bill last year. We have previously shared our frustration that no solutions for people born overseas were included in the Bill. Recommendations to do further work on this issue also made no explicit reference to asylum seekers, refugees or migrants on temporary visas.
After a huge amount of last minute lobbying at the end of last year, Rainbow Path watched Parliament TV on 9 December, hopeful that our lived experiences might have been enough to make a difference. In our Facebook post we described how that felt.
“As the Bill went through its third reading, excited Rainbow Path members and allies were sitting in front of the screen, listening closely to the speeches and cheering each time our Rainbow refugee and asylum seeker communities were acknowledged. What was remarkable is not only that it was passed unanimously, but also the commitment we got to finding solutions for people born overseas, during the 18 months between now and when the regulations for self-identification come into effect.”
Our ongoing lobbying has been to ensure this includes asylum seekers, refugees and migrants on temporary or timebound visas, as well as permanent residents and citizens born overseas. A huge thank you from the bottom of our hearts to all our allies for your unrelenting support.
Less than a week later the Select Committee wrote to Rainbow Path confirming that their recommendation applied to all overseas-born New Zealanders, including refugees and asylum seekers. We have shared the letter in full below.
Watch this blog and our Facebook page to see details of the community discussion we will be hosting on 16 and 21 June from 6.30 – 8pm. We want to hear from any overseas-born trans, non-binary or intersex people living in Aotearoa, especially those who are unable to get their gender and name recognised in their country of origin. Together we will identify the range of different barriers we face and explore potential solutions.
Select Committee’s letter to Rainbow Path confirming that their recommendation includes all overseas-born New Zealanders, including refugees and asylum seekers
GOVERNANCE AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE KOMITI WHIRIWHIRI TAKE WHAKAHAERENGA
15 December 2021
Inquiry into Supplementary Order Paper 59 on the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Bill
“Thank you for your email about the inquiry into Supplementary Order Paper 59 on the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Bill. We commend you for your advocacy on behalf of refugees and asylum seekers living in New Zealand, particularly in regard to this piece of legislation.
As mentioned in your email, we made a recommendation to the Government to commit to pursuing a solution that would allow overseas-born New Zealanders to register a nominated sex. Thank you for raising the issue of whether refugees and asylum seekers were intended to be included in this recommendation.
In our report on the Inquiry into Supplementary Order Paper 59, we did intend to include refugees and asylum seekers within this recommendation. It is our expectation that the Government will work towards finding a solution that would allow all overseas-born New Zealanders, including refugees and asylum seekers, to register a nominated sex. We have copied in the Minister of Internal Affairs and officials at the Department of Internal Affairs so that they are aware of our intention.
Thank you again for your advocacy on behalf of refugees and asylum seekers in the rainbow community.
Ngā mihi
Ian McKelvie
Chairperson Governance and Administration Committee
Artist: Huriana Kopeke-Te Aho’s illustration for the Counting Ourselves report
The Births, Deaths, Marriages and Relationships Registration (BDMRR) Bill returns to Parliament this week. Trans asylum seekers, refugees and migrants are some of the groups most often asked to show a photo ID to prove their immigration status in Aotearoa. Yet they are currently excluded from the Bill’s provisions. It’s not too late to commit to addressing this gap.
Rainbow Path’s recommendations about the BDMRR Act
Rainbow Path made a written and private oral submission in support of the Select Committee Inquiry into Supplementary Order Paper 59 but also noted significant gaps left by the proposed changes to the Births, Deaths, Marriages and Relationships Registration Act 1995.
The need for a NZ Identity document with the correct name and gender marker has become even more important now that we have Vaccine Passes. People are likely to be asked more often to show a photo ID to verify that the Vaccine Pass they present belongs to them. This will be another barrier for trans and intersex people whose overseas IDs have the wrong name and/or gender marker.
In our submissions, and the wider campaign supported by Gender Minorities Aotearoa, Rainbow Path made three related recommendations. These were to ensure that all trans and non-binary people born overseas can access a New Zealand ID with their correct name and gender, through a simple administrative process based on self-determination. Specifically, we recommended that:
permanent residents, who currently can amend these details, should retain that right – but with a simplified process too.
trans asylum seekers and Convention refugees on temporary visas should be able to obtain a document with these correct details, such as a Certificate of Identity or Refugee Travel document issued by the Department of Internal Affairs or Immigration NZ and
migrants on temporary visas should be able to get some form of New Zealand ID as well.
What did the Select Committee recommend?
Rainbow Path was really glad to see this first recommendation in the Select Committee’s report:
“That the Government commit to pursuing a solution that would allow overseas-born New Zealanders to register a nominated sex, and to carrying out further consultation with relevant individuals and groups to this end.”
Does this recommendation include asylum seekers or refugees?
It is very unclear to Rainbow Path whether this recommendation includes all overseas-born New Zealanders, specifically asylum seekers and refugees and migrants who are here on temporary or time-bound visas.
We are very concerned that this may exclude asylum seekers and refugees at the point when they are most vulnerable to discrimination and struggle to open a bank account, find accommodation or get work without a usable identity document.
Our concerns are because:
There is no mention of asylum seekers and refugees in the Select Committee’s report and
in the Department of Internal Affairs’ report to the Select Committee its advice around the Select Committee’s first recommendation was focused solely on New Zealand citizens and permanent residents born overseas.
What did the Department of Internal Affairs advise the Select Committee about asylum seekers and refugees?
The Department’s report specifically notes that “expanding access to documentation beyond citizens and permanent residents is beyond the scope of the Act”. It does note, however, that:
“Work is already underway with Immigration New Zealand at an operational level to address how best to assist transgender asylum seekers (who are on timebound visas) with gender recognition documentation while they await confirmation of refugee status (and thereafter permanent residency).”
Rainbow Path is aware of that work because it has resulted from our continued advocacy for nearly three years, and has required multiple letters to Ministers and departmental officials. Now is a vital opportunity for the government to signal a commitment to addressing these concerns within the same time frame as the regulations being developed to support this Bill.
This will require thinking outside the restrictions of current policy settings or interpretations. Legal gender recognition should be available to any trans or intersex person in Aotearoa, whatever their immigration status. That is the international human rights obligation set out in the Yogyakarta Principle 31 and the practical step needed to ensure all trans or intersex people here can navigate everyday life with safety, dignity and respect.
Why this is even more important due to COVID-19
Trans asylum seekers and refugees without accurate identity documents are one of the groups struggling to obtain a Vaccine Pass that they can safely use. This highlights yet again why trans and intersex people born overseas need a New Zealand identity document with their correct name, photo and gender marker.
Rainbow Path has recommended that trans and intersex asylum seekers and Convention refugees should be able to self-identity their name and gender on Certificates of Identity and Refugee Travel documents. This is an important interim step, as these may be the only NZ photo IDs that some asylum seekers and refugees can obtain.
However, there is very limited recognition of these documents in Aotearoa, even though they are official NZ travel documents. For example, they aren’t included as documents you can use to sign up for My COVID record. If they are not listed as accepted forms of official IDs there, it’s even less likely that they will be accepted by venues and service providers.
Rainbow Path has asked the Government to:
clarify that the work signalled in the first recommendation in the Select Committee’s report covers any trans or intersex person born overseas who is living in Aotearoa and
commit to introducing legal gender recognition solutions for trans and intersex asylum seekers, refugees and migrants between now and when amendments to the Births, Deaths, Marriages and Relationships Registration Act 1995 commence in 2023.
Rainbow Path members will be glued to our screens when the Bill returns to Parliament this week. We hope that this will be a moment that all of our trans and intersex communities can celebrate. Rainbow Path welcomes any opportunities to work meaningfully with Ministers, government officials and other trans and intersex community organisations to achieve legal gender recognition for us all.
The Select Committee report covers other issues raised by submitters too. Gender Minorities Aotearoa has written this blog analysing the Select Committee’s responses to the key points made in their submission.
Midnight this Tuesday 14 September is the closing date for submissions on the Births, Deaths, Marriages and Relationships Registration (BDMRR) Bill.
Rainbow Path supports this Bill. It is a huge step forward for trans and non-binary people born In Aotearoa. However, it excludes most trans, non-binary and intersex asylum seekers, refugees and migrants.
Together we can push for legal gender recognition for ALL of our communities.
Rainbow Path poster with contact details
What’s wrong with the Bill
The Bill will make the process for changing sex details on a NZ birth certificate much simpler, based on a person’s self-defined identity. However, it:
fails to introduce any form of legal gender recognition for asylum seekers and refugees on temporary visas and
removes existing rights for quota refugees and migrants who have permanent residence.
What you can do
The Select Committee is asking people to make submissions on the final proposed changes to the BDMRR Bill. Those changes are contained in Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) 59. One of the examples mentioned explicitly on the Select Committee’s website explains how the SOP affects people born overseas. That proposed change says:
“that the self-identification provisions cannot be used to change the individual’s birth records from another country”.
This means that legal gender recognition issues for asylum seekers, refugees and migrants are part of the Select Committee’s Inquiry.
In our last blog, Rainbow Path explained the different issues each of these groups may face. Now that we have the wording of the SOP, we have developed some specific recommendations for the Select Committee.
Rainbow Path is asking for your support for these three issues and recommendations
Step 1: Read Rainbow Path’s key points and recommendations
Below is a summary of Rainbow Path’s submission. People are very welcome to say you support our submission.
The SOP and the Bill remove permanent residents’ existing right to legal gender recognition
Permanent residents born overseas will no longer be able to go the Family Court to get a Declaration as to Sex that has their correct sex recorded, based on their gender. This removes two existing rights:
Permanent residents who were born in other countries that have a gender recognition law (e.g. the UK), used that Declaration as to Sex from the NZ Family Court as evidence to change their birth certificate overseas. They will no longer be able to do that.
Permanent residents could use this Declaration as to Sex in Aotearoa as proof of their correct sex / gender. This is especially important for people whose overseas passport has their old name and/or sex marker.
This is a backward step for permanent residents, including quota refugees (who arrive here as permanent residents)
Recommendation 1:
That the NZ government ensures permanent residents retain their right to obtain official documents with their correct gender and name, through an administrative process based on self-determination (self-identification) so that it is consistent with the changes the Bill is making for other trans, non-binary and intersex people in Aotearoa.
2. The SOP and Bill provide no options for asylum seekers and Convention refugees on temporary visas
The current legal situation
Asylum seekers and Convention refugees on temporary visas cannot change their name in Aotearoa or go to the Family Court to get a Declaration as to Sex. The SOP and Bill will continue to explicitly exclude them because they were born overseas.
When an asylum seeker is recognised as a Convention refugee, New Zealand accepts that it is unsafe for this person to return to their country of origin and that they have nowhere else to go. Aotearoa is their home, and yet they cannot obtain an official document with their correct name and sex / gender marker.
What Rainbow Path has been lobbying for
Rainbow Path members have been lobbying since 2018 for asylum seekers and Convention refugees to be able to obtain official documentation with their correct name and sex / gender marker. Without such documents, they face immense barriers trying to access basic fundamental services, and potential danger every time they use outdated ID from their country of nationality.
This official document must not include the trans person’s original name or sex marker or in any other way disclose that they are trans. Doing so would pose significant safety risks for those fleeing persecution for being transgender, including for partners or family members overseas. This is why a document like a name change certificate is not a suitable option for transgender refugees and asylum seekers to use on its own to verify their identity.
A certificate of identity with the correct name and gender is potentially one solution, as it is a document that both the Department of Internal Affairs and Immigration NZ can issue for some asylum seekers people in Aotearoa on temporary visas. A refugee travel document from the Department of Internal Affairs can be issued to someone after their refugee status has been confirmed.
Recommendation 2:
That the NZ government issues trans, non-binary and intersex asylum seekers and Convention refugees on temporary visas with an official document with their correct name and gender e.g. a certificate of identity issued by the Department of Internal Affairs and/or Immigration NZ.
3. The Bill provides no options for other migrants in NZ on temporary visas
The current legal situation
The existing Family Court process, the SOP and the Bill all exclude migrants living in New Zealand who are on temporary visas. Some may have lived in New Zealand for a long time.
Trans and non-binary people born overseas, particularly people of colour, are regularly asked to show their passport to prove their immigration status, including their ability to work or study here. They face significant challenges when they have no New Zealand documentation with a name and gender / sex marker that matches their affirmed gender.
Rainbow Path supports the need for a legal gender recognition process for these migrants too based on self-identification, for example through a statutory declaration process.
There is a growing number of countries overseas that allow migrants on temporary visas to change their name and/or sex details after living in the country for a minimum number of months or a year.
Recommendation 3:
That the NZ government explores options for migrants on temporary visas to be able to obtain an official document with their correct name and gender through a simple, administrative, self-declaration process.
Step 2: Explain why these issues are important to you
It is really important to not just copy and paste our blog post. Use your own words to describe why these issues are important.
Share your personal experiences, and your hopes that the government will ensure any trans, non-binary or intersex person living in Aotearoa can have an official document with their correct name and sex marker.
If you don’t know a lot about the experiences of asylum seekers and refugees, there are still things you can say. Here are just two examples.
Most trans or non-binary people born in Aotearoa also know what it’s like not having a birth certificate with your correct details. Many have been able to change your NZ passport and use that as an ID, because that process is already based on a simple self-declaration form. Imagine what it’s like for someone who can’t change their name or sex details details on an overseas passport (or birth certificate) and isn’t eligible for a NZ passport because they are not a NZ citizen.
Migrants who aren’t trans will know how often people ask you to prove your immigration status in Aotearoa. Imagine what that’s like when none of your documents have a name, sex marker or photo that sounds or looks like you.
Rainbow Path NZ 