In the past few months, more than 5,000 pregnant Russian women have entered Argentina, including 33 on one aircraft on Thursday, according to officials. According to the national migration office, all of the most recent entrants were in their final stages of pregnancy.
It’s claimed that the ladies want their children to be born in Argentina so they can become citizens of that country. Local media thinks that the war in Ukraine is to blame for the current rise in visitors.
According to Florencia Carignano, the head of the migration agency, three of the 33 women who arrived in the Argentinian capital on one aircraft on Thursday were detained due to “issues with their documentation,” joining three other women who arrived the day before.
The three women who were arrested on Thursday claim that they are being “falsely imprisoned” since they are being held on the grounds that they are “false tourists,” according to their attorney. According to Christian Rubilar, this phrase “does not exist in our statute.” He said, “These women are being illegally detained; they did not break any laws governing migration or commit any crimes.”
Since then, the women have been freed.
La Nacion attributed the sharp increase in Russian immigration to the conflict in Ukraine, noting that “[Russian women] are attracted by their [right to] visa-free entry to Argentina, as well as by the high-quality medicine and variety of hospitals, [as well as] fleeing war and their country’s health service.”
“Birth tourism” by Russian citizens to Argentina appears to be a lucrative and well-established practice.
Pregnant women who want to give birth in Argentina can choose from a variety of packages on a Russian-language website, according to the BBC. The website offers discounts on the price of stays at “the top hospitals in the Argentinian capital,” as well as services like customised birth plans, airport pickups, Spanish lessons, and other services.
The packages range from “first class,” which starts at $15,000 (£12,433), to “economy class,” which starts at $5,000 (£4,144).
According to the company’s website, its founder has been promoting birth tourism and providing migration support since 2015. The business also claims to be “100% Argentinian.”
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