According to Argentina’s government, more than 5,000 pregnant Russian women have arrived in recent months.
Women are reportedly trying to obtain Argentine citizenship by having their babies born in Argentina.
There has been an increase in arrivals recently, which local media attribute to the war in Ukraine.
According to the national migration agency, all of the new arrivals are women in their final weeks of pregnancy.
Image Source: Simple Flying
Florencia Carignano, head of migration agency office, told a local daily that three of the 33 women arriving in the Argentinian capital on Thursday, were detained for “documentation problems”.
Her claim was that the Russian women had originally claimed to be tourists visiting Argentina.
She further added, in these cases, the govt detected that they came here for purposes other than tourism. In fact, they admit that they did not come here for tourism purposes.
Because Argentinian citizenship gives more freedom than a Russian passport, the Russian women wanted their children to have Argentinian citizenship.
As Ms Carignano pointed out, they come to Argentina, register their children as Argentineans, and then leave. He also added that Argentina’s passports are very secure and allows its holders to enter 171 countries without visas.
Image sources: Wikipedia and Guide Consultants
A child born in Argentina also accelerates the process of becoming a citizen for their parents. Only 87 countries offer visa-free travel for Russians.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine last February, its citizens have had a difficult time traveling to many Western countries.
The EU and Russia suspended their visa facilitation agreement last September, resulting in increased processing times, more documentation requirements, and more restrictive visa rules.
Additionally, all EU member states that border Russia have suspended tourist visas for Russians.
The lawyer for the three women who were detained on Thursday alleged that they are being held on false accusations of being “false tourists”. Christian Rubilar, the lawyer, said the term does not appear in our legislation.
He further added that the ladies are being illegally deprived of their freedom despite not having committed a crime or broken any migratory law.
It has since been reported that the women have been released.
Source: OrthOdyssey
Russian citizens have been arriving in Argentina at an unprecedented rate due to the conflict in Ukraine. In addition to fleeing war and their country’s healthcare system, [Russian women] are also drawn to Argentina because of its visa-free entry, high-quality medicine, and variety of hospitals.
Russia’s birth tourism to Argentina seems to be a lucrative and well-established industry.
A raid was conducted on Saturday by Argentinian police as part of a “million-dollar business and illicit network” that allegedly provided fake documents to pregnant Russian women and their partners in record time so they could settle in Argentina.
It was reported that up to $35,000 (£29,011) was charged for the service by the gang.
Although no arrests were reported, laptops and tablets, immigration papers, and significant amounts of cash were seized.
There are some Russian-language websites offering a variety of packages for expectant mothers giving birth in Argentina. A website advertises personalized birth plans, airport pick-ups, Spanish lessons, and discounts on stays at the capital’s “leading hospitals.”
Among the packages available are “economy class”, which starts at $5,000 (£4,144), and “first class”, which begins at $15,000 (£12,433).
Its website claims that the company’s founder has been facilitating birth tourism and offering migration support since 2015 and it is 100% Argentinian.
