Pregnant Russian women: To give birth to Buenos Aires

Anyone born in Argentina automatically receives citizenship of the country. Many pregnant Russian women use this to give their children a future in peace. Others turn it into a business.

Kira and Lionel are sleeping peacefully in their stroller on the terrace of a café in Buenos Aires. They were both born in Argentina’s capital on December 19, the day after the country’s World Cup victory. Hence the naming, explains her father Ivan: Lionel, like Messi. Father Ivan is a sporty guy, in shorts and a surfer shirt, 28 years old. Argentina is supposed to be the new home for his children, because their parents don’t want to go back to their old homeland, Russia.

“Many families are looking for a way out”

Parents Ivan and Polina are well educated, young, belong to the urban middle class of Russia. “You don’t want to die in this stupid war,” says Ivan.

“I didn’t do military service because I have a slight visual impairment. But after the mobilization in September last year, it didn’t matter, anyone could be drafted.” Polina was then 25 weeks pregnant. “We were looking for a place to go,” he adds. Many families were looking for a way out.

10,000 pregnant Russian women entered the country last year

For Argentina, unlike for the EU, which has tightened its entry requirements as a result of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, Ivan and his wife Polina did not need a visa. They are two of 20,000 Russian nationals who entered Argentina last year, including more than 10,000 pregnant women.

In the past three months alone, 5,800 pregnant Russian women have been reported, according to official figures from the immigration authorities. And she’s alarmed. Boss Florencia Carigano explained on the radio a few days ago that Argentina traditionally sees itself as a country of immigration and that anyone who comes to live in the country is welcome. But it can’t be that criminal mafia organizations make a business out of it “by offering our passport and taking horrendous sums from people for it”.

Birth determines citizenship

In Argentina, newborns automatically receive citizenship and thus a passport, which also allows visa-free entry into 160 countries. The parents also receive the right of residence and can later apply for citizenship – if they can prove permanent residence. This has now resulted in birth tourism, which is a big business, says Carigano.

Special agencies offer the “complete package” for upwards of $5,000, says Christian Rubilar, who acts as a lawyer for Russian women who were initially prevented from entering the country by the authorities.

Criminal international networks involved

The women are victims, not perpetrators, says the lawyer. “There are very sophisticated, international networks that get false papers, meet their customers at the airport, take them to their homes and then, after the birth, promise to apply for the papers with a power of attorney even when the women are absent,” he said rubilar. “But that’s a lie, because that’s impossible.” Anyone who lures women to Argentina with false promises in the 32nd week of pregnancy also puts them in great danger.

The ARD asked Kirill Makoveev, head of the RuArgentina agency, for an interview. He currently does not want to comment on the investigation, Makoveev explained via Whatsapp, but the reports about RuArgentina are full of false allegations.

Argentina’s authorities, meanwhile, have begun withdrawing residence permits from Russian citizens who are not physically in the country. “If we don’t control who we give citizenship to, the prestige and trust in the Argentine passport will decrease,” said Carignano, head of the immigration service.

According to media reports, two suspected Russian spies with Argentinian passports were recently arrested in Slovenia.

future in Argentina

Parents Polina and Ivan, who prefer not to give their last names, know compatriots who paid $5,000 to move them. Those who can afford it avoid a lot of stress, that’s how the two see it.

But you organized everything yourself, the children were born in the public hospital and the family wanted to stay in Argentina for the time being, they emphasized that emphatically. They are currently still waiting for their residence permit, there are currently long waiting times.

The young couple did not even apply for a Russian passport for their children. “We don’t see any future under Putin’s regime. We’re parents now, we want our children to grow up happily and get a good education,” explains Ivan.

The fact that there is a serious economic crisis in Argentina, where inflation is almost 100 percent, does not seem to be an obstacle for the young couple at the moment. Ivan works remotely, as a programmer, earns his money in crypto business abroad. Rather, he was positively surprised that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in Argentina are now accepted as a means of payment in many places.