Passport Canada issues...Please help me!

[AweSAM!]

Arghh, Passport Canada, why u so difficult? 

I'm trying to see if I can't get my sex marker changed on my passport when I change my name. The only information I have come up with is here. The issue is that there's a link in question 3, which is supposed to tell us how to change the sex marker on our passports if it's different than our birth certificate, leads nowhere; just straight to the Passport Canada website, without helping at all. Has anyone in Canada changed their sex marker on their passport before SRS, and how do you do it?

[A]

In Québec, you request a name or gender change through the provincial government. (Directeur de l'état civil)

I BELIEVE they then relay the information to the government of Canada. In any case, I think contacting your provincial government is the way to go. At the very least, they will refer you to the right people.

[Ruby]

I can't really help - US passport. But I can say that we traveled to Thailand for SRS without the gender marker being changed, just the name and the picture updated. No one questioned her (my wife, mtf) at all. I don't know if that's your issue, but just in case, I thought I'd share.
Ruby

[AweSAM!]

I really don't have an issue with not changing it. I have to get a new passport anyways due to my name change midway through last year, so it would be nice if I had the option to change my sex marker like I can with my driver's licence. Since Passport Canada is devoid of any useful information, I'll just give their help line a call tomorrow.

[A]

"Welcome to Passport Canada. Pour le service en français avec un gros accent incompréhensible, appuyez sur l'étoile. For service in English with a big accent, please wait. If you call because you want a passport for an alien, press 1. If you want to update your picture, press 2. If you lost your passport, press 3. If you want information on payment, press 4.
...
If you want a passport for your monkey, press 56 while spinning counterclockwise.
If you want to talk to an employee, please wait.
...
All of our employees are presently busy. Please wait. The delay is estimated to... 50... minutes. Your call is important for us."

Good luck !

[LordKAT]

"Welcome to Passport Canada. Pour le service en français avec un gros accent incompréhensible, appuyez sur l'étoile. For service in English with a big accent, please wait. If you call because you want a passport for an alien, press 1. If you want to update your picture, press 2. If you lost your passport, press 3. If you want information on payment, press 4.
...
If you want a passport for your monkey, press 56 while spinning counterclockwise.
If you want to talk to an employee, please wait.
...
All of our employees are presently busy. Please wait. The delay is estimated to... 50... minutes. Your call is important for us."

Good luck !

This is truly funny as in true and funny. (Maybe show it to SNL) I always did hate computer generated menus that get you no where and places that make you verify your address and phone number 3 times before you even talk to a person. Then that person asks the same stuff again. That phone system does not need to know my phone number to put me on hold.

Sorry, my pet peeve. I don't know anything about Canadian passport issues.

[ashleym26]

Hey there I was having the same issues as you so decided to call passport canada and ask them... the women I got didn't seem to know much, but told me that the gender marker on your passport is linked to the gender marker on your birth cert. I'm not sure what provice your in, but in Ontario you have to have GRS done with letters from surgeon... once that is done you can change your birth cert then your passport. I hope that helps.

What kinda concerned me more was when talking to her I asked if there would be any problem with me leaving/returning to the country if gender marker on passport was different then gender I was living and she said there could be issues with that, said that I might face extra questioning and security checks, so I am a little woried since I plan on leaving for mexico for FFS in a few months.

[Linus]

Hey there I was having the same issues as you so decided to call passport canada and ask them... the women I got didn't seem to know much, but told me that the gender marker on your passport is linked to the gender marker on your birth cert. I'm not sure what provice your in, but in Ontario you have to have GRS done with letters from surgeon... once that is done you can change your birth cert then your passport. I hope that helps.

What kinda concerned me more was when talking to her I asked if there would be any problem with me leaving/returning to the country if gender marker on passport was different then gender I was living and she said there could be issues with that, said that I might face extra questioning and security checks, so I am a little woried since I plan on leaving for mexico for FFS in a few months.

Not a problem. I do it all the time and haven't hit a snag yet (at least in US-Canada-Mex trifecta). Outside of North America dunno but my passport says F while I present as M. One thing you may want to do is bring a letter (in english and the language of the nation you are going to) that indicates that you are trans and you are living/presenting in your true gender.

And as for changing gender, when I had my name change done for my passport they said that all I would need for gender is to bring in the changed BC, a letter from a surgeon and there is a form that you fill out to indicate what you need done. They process it like usual and *poof* new passport.

[CathyF]

I don't have a passport yet (with any name or gender on it), but I live in Alberta. If you live here and are being treated by the one doctor in the province who deals with trans stuff, and you are "full time", you can request that he write a letter stating that you are pursing genital surgery and currently living "full time". It is my understanding that on the strength of that letter you can get a temporary (two year) passport with your new gender, before any surgery. It's unfair, though, since the temporary passport costs the same as a full passport, but expires sooner. I imagine that you could obtain a letter from doctors in other provinces, although they might not be familiar with the process. I don't know much about it since I haven't got a passport yet. I'm not aware of any published policies on this and I only know if it because I was told by the doctor who writes the letters in this province.