Foreign non-binary persons and the Central Registry of Foreigners

Portada de la sentencia del Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Andalucía

Last year Alana, supported by their lawyer Olga Burgos, achieved a ground-breaking sentence from the High Court of Justice of Andalucia (TSJA in Spanish), which came to the conclusion that they needed to be registered in the Central Registry of Foreigners with a "not specified" sex, as"non-binary" or with "X", as they have this recognised in their country of origin.

Since then, the Ministerio de Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones, the ministry responsible, has changed all forms for persons with a nationality other than Spanish, and has included a third option, marked with 'X'. In the instructions it says: "*X- Indefinite: This box can only be checked by those who have it recognized in their country of origin."

According to an article in Público from 25 August 2024, "with this sentence, 24 non-binary foreign persons changed their sex to "X" or "undetermined" in their forms for the Registry."

The number of persons who can benefit from this option is limited. According to the same article in Público, only 19 countries allow a third option. Non-binary persons from countries that do not recognise non-binary identities are left out, and they also cannot use the Spanish Trans Law, as this also does not recognise non-binary identities.