Thailand's government has passed stricter rules on gender reassignment surgery.
People seeking the surgery are now required to live and dress as their destination gender for a year. Only people over the age of 18 can be operated on, and men between 18 and 20 must also gain parental consent. A mental health evaluation must also be carried out.
Transgender people from around the world visit Thailand, where gender reassignment surgery is cheaper and traditionally more accessible than anywhere else. The surgery fees begin at NZ$2,800.
Thai gay equality campaigner Nathee Teerarojanapong welcomed the new rules.
"I got so many calls where they said they are so sorry that they did a sex change," she told the AFP. "They make a big mistake and they want to come back and be the same. But they cannot!"
