New gender law continues to split Tidö parties

Around 2,000 people have applied to change their legal gender since Sweden’s new Gender Recognition Act took effect, SVT reports. The reform continues to divide the parties in the Tidö cooperation ahead of the election.

The law came into force on 1 July 2025 and made it easier to change legal gender. It removed the requirement for a medical diagnosis and allows people to apply from the age of 16.

The National Board of Health and Welfare received 1,979 applications between July 2025 and the end of May 2026. Before the reform, it typically received between 300 and 600 applications a year under legislation that also covered applications for permission to undergo surgery.

“Some people may have been waiting for the law to come into force and had wanted this for some time. That may have created a surge at the beginning. But we expected roughly this level,” said Thomas Lindén, head of a department at the National Board of Health and Welfare.

A clear majority of the applications have been approved. Lindén said most applications were correctly submitted by people who wanted to change their legal gender without making other changes to their bodies or undergoing medical treatment.

The law has triggered intense political debate. All opposition parties support it, while the Sweden Democrats and the Christian Democrats want to repeal it.

“We want to strengthen the rights of transgender people in Sweden, but not by saying that people should be able to change to any legal or biological sex without a clear diagnosis,” Christian Democrat leader Ebba Busch said.

She said repealing the law would not conflict with the party’s support for transgender rights in other areas, including better nationally coordinated healthcare for transgender people.

The Moderates, which voted for the law, have said they want to review it and are open to changes. Liberal leader Simona Mohamsson said she considers the reform historic and expects it to remain in place.

“We introduced it together, and my starting point is that we will continue to fight to keep this legislation. It is a modernisation that many people have been waiting for, and it makes life easier for many,” Mohamsson said.

Of the 1,979 applications, 271 came from people under 18. About 89 per cent were approved and 3 per cent were rejected. The remainder had not yet been recorded as either approved or rejected. In 54 per cent of cases, applicants sought to change from legally male to legally female.