Transgender traveler with old passport/Canada

I am asking for someone who will be traveling as a transitioning woman on an Alaskan cruise. Her passport has old name and gender. She has to fly into/out of Vancouver (lives in U.S) and will enter Canada on one of the port adventures. She does not look like the passport photo, but can pass for a man if she needs to. Are there any tips on how to deal with this, or is it something that shouldn't be worried about at all?

What is her current legal sex? If she's had "appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition", and her physician completes the required certification for this, she can get a new passport.

Details here:

http://www.transequality.org/know-your-rights/passports

If not, I think you'd have to travel with your old passport. Make sure the name on the air and cruise tickets match the passport name.

She is still legally a male and will be at the time of the cruise.

She is traveling under the old passport. There isn't enough time to get a new passport. She could get a doctor's note stating that her medication has changed her appearance if that would be necessary. She will be getting the note that states she is a female, but it won't be enough time to get a new passport. I believe the legal process (waiting for a court date) will take about a year from the date of getting the note.

EDIT TO ADD: I just read the link you posted. Thanks so much. It looks like she only needs the doctor's note to start the passport process. We thought she needed to finish going through the courts for name change on SS#, birth certificate, etc. I'm starting to think if we rushed everything, she may indeed have the new passport. That could create a new issue of having the reservation and insurance under the old name, though.

This is the relevant info right on the State Dept website for getting a new passport.

Unless she manages to secure a new passport under her current appearance though, she may face problems - basically if you don't look like your passport, regardless of why, you need additional proof of identity to link you to the proof of citizenship (ordinarily a passport serves both these purposes).

We have stringent laws in Canada forbidding gender bias, but unfortunately in this case if a CBSA officer happens to be transphobic, or just an a**hole, or even not in any way unduly biased but simply trying to do their job by the book, they could easily reject your friends entry if she does not look enough like her passport photo without falling foul of our non-discrimination laws - anyone whose appearance doesn't match their documents is subject to refusal so it would be very hard to prove bias, and regardless she wouldn't get allowed in and would have to fight about it after the fact.

I've known a handful of people before, during, and after gender reassignment personally and worked with an organization that supported people through the change here in BC. This situation is a little different in that it's a US citizen (I assume!) trying to get into Canada, but here's what I've learned that she could do if she is unable to get a new passport that does match her current appearance in time:

Unless she's also had facial surgery concurrently with whatever stage of treatment she's on, the simplest thing to do is minimise the changed feminine aspects - ditch makeup, pull hair back etc. - to make sure her face is clearly visible and as close as possible to how she looks in her old male picture. Close is good enough - people have nose jobs, put on or lose weight, dye their hair etc. and it doesn't stop them traveling.

If she has had a lot of facial work done, then supporting documentation is almost certainly going to be demanded. A letter from a doctor will prove why her appearance has changed, but not that she is still the person named on the passport unless it also contains a sworn statement of exactly how her appearance now differs. To play it really safe, a sworn statement on the back of new pictures that match her current appearance, just like if you were applying for a passport for the first time, that the person pictured is (same full formal name as on passport) - a Notary doing this should also be acceptable.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for all the info! It's early enough in the transition that the only real difference in the photo is the hair. Picture has a buzz cut, but she has long curly hair now. She can talk in a deep voice and her clothing tends to be unisex. Based on the info provided here, we think she will be fine for travel with current passport. She would rather do that than get a new one and have to get another new one next year for the legal name change.