By Laura Gossy BBC News
image provided, Getty Images
More than 5,000 pregnant Russian women have entered Argentina in recent months. In one case, 33 pregnant women entered the country at once on one flight, authorities said.
Argentine immigration officials said all the women who recently arrived were in the third trimester of pregnancy.
It is said that the purpose of entering the country is to give birth in Argentina and obtain the citizenship of the country.
The number of such Russian women is increasing. Local media point to the effects of the war in Ukraine.
Is it useful for obtaining citizenship for parents?
Argentina’s head of immigration, Florencia Carignano, told local newspaper La Nacion that 33 pregnant women arrived in the capital Buenos Aires on the 9th of this month. Three of them were detained for “documentation problems.” The day before, three pregnant women were also detained.
The Russian women initially claimed to be visiting Argentina as tourists. The three people who were detained on the 9th have since been released.
“We could see that they weren’t there as tourists, they themselves admitted,” Carignano said.
He also said that Russian women want their children to have Argentinean citizenship. She says it’s because she has more freedom than a Russian passport.
“The problem is that they come to Argentina, register their children as Argentines and leave. Our passports are universally accepted. You can enter 171 countries without a visa.”
Russian passports currently allow visa-free travel to only 87 countries.
Having a child with Argentinean citizenship also speeds up the process of obtaining citizenship for parents.
Established as “childbirth tourism”
Local newspaper La Nacion blames the war in Ukraine on the dramatic rise in Russian immigration.
Regarding the behavior of Russian pregnant women, the newspaper said, “In addition to fleeing the war and medical care in their own country, they are attracted by the visa-free entry to Argentina and the high quality of medical care and the diversity of hospitals. in the background,” he said.
“Maternity tourism” to Argentina for Russians appears to be a lucrative and established business.
A Russian-language website reviewed by the BBC offers various packages for pregnant women who want to give birth in Argentina. The cost ranges from about $5,000 to $15,000 (about ¥660,000 to ¥1,980,000).
The site says the company is “100% Argentinian” and that its founder has been offering maternity tourism since 2015.
Argentinean police have raided a home as part of an investigation into a “million-dollar business and fraudulent network” that allegedly provided fake documents to pregnant women and their partners in Russia, La Nation reported on Thursday. The forged documents were issued in record time to allow them to settle in Argentina.
Police said the groups involved were charging up to $35,000 for their services.
No arrests have been made, but police are said to have seized laptops, tablets, immigration documents and large amounts of cash.
