Why do more and more Russians choose Argentina to have children and live?

( Spanish) — “There are a lot of Russians here,” says Sviatoslav, a 28-year-old Russian who lives in Argentina and prefers not to give his last name, in English. He came with his family in November to have his second child born here and they still don’t speak Spanish.

They are part of the Russian couples who decide to live and give birth in Argentina, a phenomenon that has been growing since the beginning of 2022. And they have many reasons for choosing Argentina as a place to distance themselves from their country, where the invasion of Ukraine and the war under way since February of last year have created a state of uncertainty and international isolation.

The country of the Southern Cone is one of those that do not require visas for Russian travelers, and where, in addition to the quality of medicine, they can also reside legally just by having a child born there, and two years later become citizens.

“We began to perceive the gradual increase from the beginning of 2022, very gradual at the beginning with a projection, an almost exponential growth towards the end of the year,” says Dr. Guido Manrique, head of Obstetrics at the Finochietto Sanatorium, one of the largest private clinics. chosen by Russian mothers to have their children.

Although there are no official statistics available, only in Finochietto the numbers are eloquent: at the beginning of 2022, they had only one or two births per month. But in December, out of a total of 180 deliveries, 50 were to Russian mothers.

Most of the Russian women who come to give birth do not speak Spanish and many attend medical visits and childbirth with translators who join the medical team, they point out from the sanatorium.

“In some cases, when the patient does not bring a translator, sometimes with English it is possible because it is the most universal language. Many have good management, but there are some patients who out there have a more limited management and in those cases we must resort to cell phone applications, with which acceptable communication is achieved, let’s say”, explains Dr. Manrique.

Why choose Argentina?

“It is because it is a country where a visa is not required. It is a very free country,” says Hanna Shaforostova, a 28-year-old refugee from Ukraine who arrived in the country eight years ago and has been helping Russian mothers who want to settle in the country for a few months.

“I never thought that I would live in Latin America. It’s really, really far from Russia,” says Sviatoslav, who works remotely for a French company and is married to Vera.

They lived in Moscow, they have two children and they were building their house there. But shortly before the arrival of the last one, Daniel, they decided to come to Argentina so that he could be born in this Latin American country.

“I think it’s like another life. I didn’t know what was going to happen in Russia next year or the next five years. Really terrible things are happening in Ukraine and other things in Russia. So, I’m not sure if it will be a good country to live in the next ten years or something like that”, she explains as she walks with her children through a park in the Palermo neighborhood.

“People are much more open here,” he says, adding: “It was rare to see people doing sports or yoga in the parks. We don’t have that in Moscow.”

Papers, good treatment and costs

There are several reasons why Russians find Argentina attractive: it is one of the few countries that they can currently enter without a visa and apply for legal residence, which will allow them to become Argentine citizens after two years of residence.

The Argentine passport also allows entry to more than 170 countries without a visa, many of which are currently closed to Russians due to sanctions related to the war in Ukraine.

In addition, for those who want to be parents there are other reasons: their children are automatically Argentine just because they were born in the country and they highlight the high quality of medical care for pregnant women, which is much cheaper than in other countries, or even free in the Public hospitals.

“Let’s keep in mind that it is not the most common for a mother in a third trimester of pregnancy to leave her place, her family, her business, her belongings, her comfort zone to go to another country to give birth. So, for us, from obstetrics it is a boomIt’s a new thing,” says Manrique.

“A woman who gave birth in Russia will never want to have a child in Russia anymore, why? Because they treat them quite badly, they tell you not to yell, to lie down, not to walk, they don’t give you a nice birth and here there is everything to have a nice birth,” says Shaforostova, who says that in Ukraine it is not very different treatment.

She, who got married in Argentina and has two children, every day receives more queries from Russians who want to give birth in Argentina and settle in the country: between 40 or 50 per day. “I am with calls and messages all day. I get a lot of inquiries, ”she says.

The economy also weighs: life in general in Argentina is cheaper than in Russia, especially for those who earn in rubles or dollars, and the agencies that help Russian women to establish themselves in the country maintain that a birth in a private clinic Argentina is much cheaper than in other countries in the region.

“The hospital was really good. Much better and much cheaper than Russia”, says Sviatoslav. His wife, Vera, gave birth in Moscow and another in Buenos Aires and shows the photos of the food that was given to her by places: the one from the Buenos Aires clinic is much more abundant and looks like a plate from a restaurant.

Non-discrimination is another of the points that Russians highlight in Argentina: “It is a very friendly country for immigrants,” says Sviatoslav.

“We never had discrimination. It’s a spectacular deal. The Russians who arrive are surprised at how well they are treated here”, adds Shaforostova.

Freedom is another point that, they say, weighs. And a lot.

“Many people said: ‘And why don’t the Russians take to the streets to say that they are against the war?’ They can not. I know cases in which the police were getting into the apartments. You cannot speak ill of Putin”, affirms Shaforostova categorically.

Víctor Feshchenko, who arrived in Buenos Aires at the end of December, confirms this. “I am not an activist, but I participated in some marches. But at two large protests, the police came to my parents’ house and warned me not to go to those demonstrations.”

For this reason, not everyone comes to have their children or because it is easy to have an Argentine passport.

“We were not thinking of having a child to legalize ourselves in Argentina or to receive Argentine nationality. No, we just want a child and we want him where we are. Since it is Argentina, possibly we are going to have a child here ”, he maintains with a fairly clear Spanish, learned in his university years in Moscow.

fleeing from war

Feshchenko and Lisa originally lived in Moscow. But when the war started they decided to leave Russia and finally arrived in Buenos Aires in December.

“When the war began, we told ourselves that we could not be in the country that started the conflict and the one that kills our neighbors. The people of the country that we like very much die and where we spend days of our lives and we decided that we did not want to help the Russia’s economy with our taxes,” he says.

For this reason, they first went to Georgia, a neighboring country for which they did not need a visa. But seeing that the war continued, they began to look for other options: they did not want to be in a country close to Russia because they consider them unstable and Europe, due to the sanctions imposed, is closed to the Russians.

“And that’s why we decided to look for something in Latin America and our friends came to Argentina in July to work. They work remotely for Russia. And they told us that Argentina is a good country and everything is fine here, except for the economy,” Feshchenko explains.

Although they work remotely for Russia, which ensures them a good salary by Argentine standards, getting their money together is difficult.

“The problems of the Argentine economy, combined with problems of sanctions against Russia, are a very serious cocktail,” he says with a laugh.

Due to Argentine exchange restrictions, using a credit card is disadvantageous for foreigners. It is convenient for them to exchange their dollars in the informal market or receive drafts, which are settled at a similar rate.

“We send the money from Russia to Georgia, where we have our cards. From Georgia we send our friends or relatives to other European countries or the United States and they send us from their countries to Argentina”, he explains.

Sviatoslav also turns to cryptocurrencies. “To bring the money here there are two ways: if you have a cryptocurrency wallet or if you have some friends who live in another country and can bring you the money or use Western Union.”

Despite the complications, the change helps them. “Prices are low if we compare them with Moscow and that is why we can live well here with our salaries. Not like millionaires, but we can live well”, says Feshchenko.

Little by little, the newly arrived Russians are adapting to life in Argentina and, above all, learning the language, one of their main challenges. But they are also forming their community: just in a Telegram group there are more than 3,700 people who share their doubts and experiences in the country.

“It’s grown a lot,” says Shaforostova, and anticipates: “In February it’s going to explode because a lot more people are going to come. They’re already contacting me to come in February. It’s a lot of people.”