Citizens and residents of Malta will, as of tomorrow, be able to have their sex marked as the gender-neutral ‘X’ on their official documents, including passports, ID cards and residence permits.

The option has technically been part of Maltese law since the Gender Identity Act passed in 2015, but will finally come into force tomorrow – in the middle of Pride Week – after Identity Malta updated its software.

People wishing to change the sex on their documents must take an oath in the presence of a notary, and send it – along with the standard application – to Identity Malta.  

“This is another important step towards giving people rights, irrespective of how they were born,”  civil liberties minister Helena Dalli told a press conference. “The government focused on pro-LGBTIQ legislation in the last legislature, and we are now focusing more on putting these laws into practice. The government believes everyone should be given the license to be who they truly are.”

Malta now joins the likes of Australia, Canada, Denmark, Nepal, New Zealand and Pakistan as other countries who allow its citizens to use an ‘X’ identification marker. 

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Tim Diacono

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]