Since the beginning of 2022, more than 22,000 Russians have entered Argentina. Of these, about 11,000 are women. These figures are given by the immigration service of the country. And although it is difficult to calculate how many of them were pregnant, the Wall Street Journal writes that a number of Argentine hospitals have confirmed that the number of pregnant women from Russia has increased considerably among their patients in the course of the past year. The increased demand of Russians for childbirth in this country is also noted in RuArgentina, an agency that provides assistance to Russian-speaking immigrants.
“Over the past calendar year, about 70,000 people have visited us, a project about childbirth,” says Kirill Makoveev, founder of the RuArgentina agency. – It’s hard to say how many of these were telephone consultations, but somewhere around a few dozen. Telephone consultations are when you don’t have enough information on the site, when you have more questions.
Such interest in Argentina is understandable. First, Russians do not need a visa here. In addition, according to local laws, a child born in the territory of this country automatically receives citizenship, and his parents – a residence permit and later can apply for an Argentine passport, which allows visa-free entry to more than a hundred seventy countries of the world. For many Russians who decided to leave their homeland after the start of a full-scale war in Ukraine, Argentina became the most accessible immigration option. Natalya from Ufa decided to move, having become pregnant with her third child in April last year.
“I have two sons,” Natalya said in an interview with Russian service media. – I understood that the future that I painted for them, that they would study in Europe, that everything would be fine, it all came together in one day. We understood that the future that I would like to give to the children, it is not clear if they will have it or not. When I found out in April that I was pregnant, we thought long and hard and I decided that we were leaving the country for good.
The choice fell on Argentina not only because of the possibility of obtaining the right to permanent residence relatively quickly, but also because of affordable and high-quality medical care. In the fall, being 7 months pregnant, Natalia, together with her husband and children, finally moved to a new country.
“We came to the hospital on our own,” Natalya continues. – At the hospital, we were given all the documentation: how much it will cost. I gave birth for a fee, I needed a caesarean section. I needed a room to have conditions. I immediately went to the doctor, I immediately found out what days the doctor I read about, about which I wanted to work, worked. Everything went well. The hospital is wonderful, I am always grateful to the doctors. There is no problem with this here. There are free clinics, there are paid ones, it’s up to each individual.”
Argentine authorities, in turn, fear that the majority of those who arrive to give birth to a child will not stay in the country after receiving a residence permit. In February, the head of Argentina’s migration service, Florencia Carignano, told the C5N television channel that the migration service had started suspending the residence permits of Russian women who gave birth to a child in Argentina, but spent more time outside the country. than in its territory.
According to the Associated Press, more than 13,000 of the Russians who arrived in Argentina over the past year have already left the country. Alla and her husband Andrei are among those who stayed. They came to Argentina to escape mobilization.
“I told my husband how worried he was about being drafted,” Alla said in an interview with The Associated Press. – I was afraid that he would die in the war and that I would be alone with the child. Argentina has been very kind to us. I hope my son will become a real Argentinian. We are not here just to get passports and go somewhere in another country, no.
Just like Alla and Andrey, Natalya also intends to stay with her family in Argentina. While she and her husband are working remotely, they are already learning Spanish and looking for work to build a new life in Argentina and provide a decent future for their children.
