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Pregnant Russians seek Argentina passports for babies, flying there for birth : NPR


Russian citizen Alla Prigolovkina, her husband Andrei Ushakov, son Lev Andres of Argentine descent and their two dogs Santa and Cometa visit a park on February 14 in Mendoza, Argentina. Despite the language barrier and sweltering summer heat, Prigolovkina and Ushakov have quickly embraced Argentine customs since they moved in July.

Natacha Pisarenko/AP


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Russian citizen Alla Prigolovkina, her husband Andrei Ushakov, son Lev Andres of Argentine descent and their two dogs Santa and Cometa visit a park on February 14 in Mendoza, Argentina. Despite the language barrier and sweltering summer heat, Prigolovkina and Ushakov have quickly embraced Argentine customs since they moved in July.

Natacha Pisarenko/AP

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Shortly after Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, Alla Prigolovkina and her husband, Andrei Ushakov, decided they had to flee their hometown of Sochi, Russia.

Ushakov was detained for holding up a sign that read “Peace” and Prigolovkina, a pregnant ski coach, feared he would soon be enlisted and potentially killed, leaving her child they are fatherless.

The original plan was to stay in Europe, but anti-Russian sentiment prevented them.

Prigolovkina, 34, told the Associated Press inside the house her family rented in Mendoza province, western Argentina: “We chose Argentina because it has everything we need: wonderful nature, a land. vast water, beautiful mountains. “We felt it would be ideal for us.”

They are hardly alone.

Over the past year, Argentine immigration authorities have noticed flights carrying dozens of pregnant Russians. But while Prigolovkina said her family intends to build a life here in the foothills of the Andes, local officials believe many recent Russian tourists are focused solely on getting one of their passports. Argentina.

All children born in Argentina automatically receive citizenship, and having an Argentinian child speeds up the process for parents to obtain their own residence permit and passport after a few years.

Crucially, the navy blue booklets allow entry to 171 countries without a visa, a contingency plan that the Russians believe could be useful in the always uncertain future. Due to sanctions, Russians also have difficulty opening bank accounts abroad, something that an Argentine passport can deal with.

About 22,200 Russians traveled to Argentina last year, according to official figures, including 10,777 women – many of them terminally pregnant. In January, 4,523 Russians arrived in Argentina, more than four times the number of 1,037 who arrived in the same month last year.

After an investigation, Argentine officials concluded that Russian women, often from the wealthy class, were entering the country as tourists with the plan to give birth, obtain documents and leave. More than half of all Russians who entered the country last year, 13,134, left, including 6,400 women.

“We found out that they don’t come to do tourism, they come to give birth,” Florencia Carignano, national director for migration, said in a meeting with international media.

Although Argentina generally has a relatively lenient immigration process, the recent arrest of two alleged Russian spies with Argentine passports in Slovenia has raised alarm bells in the South American country. , where officials stepped up immigration controls.

“We have canceled the residency of Russians who spend more time abroad than in the country,” Carignano said, adding that he was concerned that “Argentine’s passports would no longer be trusted in the country,” Carignano said. all countries”.

Immigration authorities have also called on the justice system to investigate agencies that allegedly assist Russian women who want to give birth in Argentina.

It’s not clear how many women left Russia to give birth last year, but the issue is so big that lawmakers in Moscow this month questioned whether those who choose to give birth abroad should be stripped of their status. maternity fund or not. that all Russian mothers receive — financial benefits of almost $8,000 for the first child and about $10,500 for the second.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there was no discussion about whether to cut off access to maternity funds for Russian mothers giving birth abroad.

This phenomenon is not entirely new. Before the Russo-Ukrainian war, Russian women were part of a wave of “birth tourists” in the US, and many paid brokers tens of thousands of dollars to arrange travel and accommodation. and length of hospital stay, usually in Florida.

Starting a long journey during a major pregnancy can be especially dangerous, and Russians in Argentina emphasize that their decision to leave home is more than just a new passport. Despite the government’s claims, at least some seem eager to make Argentina their new home.

Despite the language barrier and the sweltering, unfamiliar summer heat, Prigolovkina and Ushakov have quickly embraced Argentine customs since they moved in July. Prigolovkina said they especially enjoy spending time at the park with their dogs. And while the family may not be interested in football in Russia, they cheered happily when their new nation won the World Cup late last year.

However, she also admits that obtaining a passport for their newborn son, Lev Andrés, was a driving factor in the move: “We want our child to have the opportunity to be more than just Russian and have a single passport.”

Some experts say a country where migrants once made up 30% of the population should be particularly sensitive to the plight of Russians trying to start a new life. This South American country was transformed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by the influx of millions of Europeans, many of whom came from Italy and Spain.

Natalia Debandi, a social scientist and migration expert, and a researcher at the publicly funded CONICET institute, said: “Given our history of migration, a country like yours. we should be more sympathetic to the humanitarian side” of these recent immigrants. “They are not terrorists, they are the people.”

Maxim Levoshin sits with his wife Ekaterina Gordienko on February 18 as she breastfeeds their newborn son, Leo, of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Gordienko and Levoshin arrived in the Argentine capital in December.

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Maxim Levoshin sits with his wife Ekaterina Gordienko on February 18 as she breastfeeds their newborn son, Leo, of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Gordienko and Levoshin arrived in the Argentine capital in December.

Natacha Pisarenko/AP

A study of immigration agents based on interviews with 350 Russian newcomers concluded that most are married and the majority are well-off professionals who have remote work in the field. finance and digital design or live on savings.

Days before the birth of baby boy Leo, 30-year-old Russian psychologist Ekaterina Gordienko praised her experience in Argentina, saying that “the health care system is very good and the people are very kind. The only problem. My best is Spanish.If the doctor can’t speak English, I use translator (Google).

Gordienko arrived in the nation’s capital Buenos Aires in December with her 38-year-old husband, Maxim Levoshin. “The first thing we want is for Leo to live in a safe country with no future wars,” Levoshin said.

In Mendoza, Prigolovkina is excited about her family’s new life in Argentina and optimistic that they will be able to give back to the country that has welcomed them.

“We have left everything to live in peace. I hope the Argentinians understand that the Russians can be very useful in different areas of life, in business, economics, science,” she said. speak. “They can make Argentina better.”

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