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Thousands of Russians have fled since Putin invaded Ukraine.
Carla DeVizziEditor News
Birth boom in Argentina! As “The Guardian” reports, the South American country is currently experiencing real birth tourism. But not because Argentines are having so many children right now. They are Russians who come to the country to give birth. Namely, so that their children receive Argentine citizenship.
But why? As Eva Pekurova, owner of an agency that helps Russian women give birth abroad, tells the newspaper, Russian citizens do not need a visa to enter Argentina. “Buenos Aires is therefore very much in demand at the moment. It’s the only goal we’re currently working on,” says Pekurova.
In addition, Argentina pursues a liberal migration policy: anyone who is born here automatically gets a passport – including the Russian babies. According to the agency owner, Argentinian citizens can enter 171 countries, including the EU, the United Kingdom and Japan, at short notice and without a visa. In addition, applying for a long-term visa is “not very difficult”.
For comparison: Before the war, Russians were only allowed to enter about 80 countries without a visa. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the task was by no means easier. Numerous European countries have either completely barred Russian citizens from entering the country or made it practically impossible.
“At least eight pregnant Russian women were waiting in front of me”
That’s why Polina Tscherepowitzkaja from Moscow decided to go “Argentina”. “An Argentine passport will open many doors for my child,” she told the British daily. Shortly after Putin’s troops invaded Ukraine, she found out about her pregnancy. It quickly became clear to her that she had to leave here – before her child was born.
Last December it was time. When she arrived at the maternity ward of a hospital in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, she suddenly heard the native sound of the Russian language. “It was crazy, at least eight pregnant Russian women were waiting in front of me.”
“We are already fully booked until May 2023”
Cherepovitskaya is anything but an isolated case. According to the Guardian, hundreds of women traveled to Argentina last year to give birth. According to Georgy Polin, head of the consular department at the Russian Embassy in Argentina, in 2022 between 2,000 and 2,500 Russians moved to Argentina. Among them many pregnant women who wanted to give birth in the country. Polin does not believe that the number of immigrants will decrease. In the future, there will be even more: “In 2023, this number can increase to 10,000.”
Kirill Makoveev, who set up the Baby.RuArgentina agency, can confirm the boom in childbirth tourism: his company alone helped over a hundred Russian women last year. And: “We are already fully booked until May 2023.”
Many of them also have no intention of leaving the country any time soon. So did Tscherepowizkaja and her husband. As the “Guardian” goes on to write, they even intend to apply for Argentine citizenship as well. Thanks to their daughter, who is already Argentinian, they would even be able to enjoy a simplified naturalization process. In less than two years, parents of a child born in Argentina can already apply for Argentine citizenship.