The boom of Russians in Argentina: more and more come to give birth, to live or just to get a passport

That Denis Bain -28-year-old Russian, six foot eight, very white and with brown hair- is standing in

,

.

As many as the poster that only he understands because it is not translated.

"Терпеливые господа, если вы не говорите по-испански, пожалуйста приходите с переводчиком".

(

All that 

 says that birthing tourism in Argentina - which was in the news last week - already exceeds the glamor of

. 

Irina Baina and Denis Bain will have their baby at the Fernández Hospital.

Photo: Federico Imas.

It seems unusual, but just as Argentines

, our blue one attracts even the least opulent couples in Moscow to the public maternity hospitals in the City. 

Extremely pregnant, from all social classes, hundreds of Russians

so that their babies

.

They want their children to have greater freedom to move around the world.

But the 

 has an effect even on those who will not hang around the Buenos Aires nurseries.

The Russian consulate in Argentina told The Guardian, the British outlet that first looked at the phenomenon, that for this reason 

.

And it is true that the pregnant Russians who go through Migrations are more striking.

In fact, there are more  who are

.

Since the invasion of Ukraine ,

, alone or as a couple but without babies on the way, and

enter the Ezeiza Airport in search of their own Argentine papers.

Since Turkey is the single easiest way to depart,

.

There are between 5 and 10 pregnant women per flight and if the rest is added, according to the different agencies that

consulted , the Russians

given by the embassy.

There are tailor-made packages according to the project (and the budget) to start the journey to

.

They stay on average three months.

They do not want another neighborhood that is not Palermo, Recoleta, Belgrano or Núñez and

.

Due to the bank blockade of Russia,

and go to caves to exchange their digital currencies for dollars.

Danila Zaxarov is 20, he arrived in Palermo from Moscow on December 19 and instead 

, although he does not know if "it will be 100% possible" because of his work in Technology, which he keeps remote.

Danila Zaxarov (20) represents the other profile of Russians who arrive in Argentina: "I don't want to kill Ukrainians," he says.

"I

here because it is

and dealing with people. And I love the weather (NdR: it seems very strange that we are not all wearing sandals and seeing each other with shoes or boots in January). But The main reason I left Russia is that

. And I don't want to die," he tells

.

He emigrated alone, has not yet started the process for his Argentine DNI and plans to obtain a visa as a digital nomad in the future. 

Back at Fernández, the fact that Ariadna Martynenko, the interpreter, is next to Denis, also says a lot.

It is the fact that the Russians not only pay attention to the only requirement of free public attention (which is actually a request

and shows that they are very informed about

-more with a contact that facilitates everything from here- 

.

Ariadna Martynenko at Fernández.

She is the interpreter of Irina and Denis.

Photo: Federico Imas

"I am not an official translator. I help the girls who chose Argentina to have their babies and do not speak Spanish. I give them 'a little hand', as you say.

", explains Ariadna. 

"Some stay to live and others have the baby and go back to Russia. But, well, already with the Argentine passport... for any little thing, any problem that arises, they

, "he marks.

The "little thing" is that they call the men to enlist to fight.

Another problem is that it makes it even more difficult for them to circulate through the European Union (today they ask for a visa) or that the United States completely declines any type of access.

Being Argentine, on the other hand, there are no obstacles to Europe, the American tourist visa is available for 10 years and

.

And by the

, any baby born in Argentine territory obtains nationality.

But what about fathers and mothers or those who do not come to give birth?

"A Russian who comes

, eventually requesting an extension of his income 'as a tourist', for another three more months. But then he must prove some of the grounds that enable him to obtain a residence in the country longer,"

 lawyer Joaquina Berraondo told

Together with Queenie Cavanagh, she runs Connect, a company that

 in all aspects related to their settlement in the country.

"There are a lot of IT and engineers. They are trying to keep their jobs remotely, at least in an early stage. Those who stay, once settled and more familiar with the language, will try to find work.

They still don't know exactly how they can manage in this country," says Berraondo.

The most common in these cases is that they request residence as a "digital nomad" (remote worker) for 6 months;

Proof of an income abroad that allows them to live in the country (residence as an

) or a residence as a student.

Since the documents to be presented are duly translated and legalized,

.

For direct relatives of an Argentine baby, the precarious residence (which is given while the permanent one is issued)

.

Those who want to have the Argentine passport must first be citizens.

And during the process they do not have the obligation to stay in Argentina.

They come back to swear.

In any case, they ask for a valid passport, criminal record certificate, proof of entry into the country, plus the documentation corresponding to the cause that is intended to be invoked: birth certificate of the child in Argentina or proof of income received abroad or certificate of studies in the country.

Russian mother, Argentine baby

The Russians applaud the Buenos Aires public health system.

The quality and warmth is not alien to us.

But they even remark that from the administrative point of view "everything is very simple".

Always, of course,

. 

Irina Baina (32) and Denis arrived alone at Fernández.

They had a piece of information that tempted them: "

. "

They removed the passage "three or four days" after reading that in one of the many

.

And they rented an apartment a few blocks away.

"They took us directly to that doctor. But she is on vacation and we need Ariadna to help us there," the future father tells

He is 

(graphic designer) and in Russia it was difficult for him

for blocking accounts.

"From here I can work at my home office and receive my money without any problem," he says.

Months ago they had emigrated to Kazakhstan --as most do, because they can get bank accounts or use Russian cards-- they arrived here on November 14 and they don't know if this is going to be the final country.

They came for fear that he

.

​Cellphone

in hand, a nurse uses Google Translate to tell her that "everything was fine" with the baby, while the flesh-and-blood translator gave this interview.

A minute later, she ushers him in.

In that room, shared with another occupied bed, the future Russian mother is lying.

She without a robe, with the dress in which she had arrived, she barefoot and uncovered by the heat.

The smiles of this couple went beyond the mask and the gesture of the photo.

They were too calm in the 42nd week of pregnancy.

They are not charged for the delivery or the ultrasound scans or the laboratory tests that are done right there.

It

Having or not having papers does not mean anything between those two.

At Fernández, where about 100 babies are born a month, the head of Obstetrics, Jorge Ortí, tells

that there were

.

In December it was the peak -as it happened in the private sector-, with 37 births.

"I receive 10 consultations a day and I explain to them via Zoom what the process is like to have their children here. They don't come just for the papers, but also for the respected delivery.

. Most go to private clinics, they have university degrees and a lot of money. It is expensive to give birth here. The clinic charges about US$1,500 and the doctor, depending on which one they choose, another US$1,500 or US$2,000," says Hanna Shaforostova to

.

Tatiana, Radoslava and Anastasia, three Russians who will be mothers in Argentina.

Photo: Federico Imas

She arrived as a Ukrainian refugee, had her last baby here, and today is the most well -

known and respected birth manager for the Russian immigration agency

She has assistants and offers

: consultations, analysis and delivery, all in the same clinic.

But, in addition, from the

this Friday 

, he knows very well the other facet of the wave of Russians.

"It is a wave of immigration for qualified work.

One works, for example, with oil, another is a psychologist and so on. They would do the country very well if they stayed. But mainly you have to understand that everything is very recent and that they

," he says.

Tatiana Balashova is Russian and will be a mother in Argentina.

Photo: Federico Imas

Tatiana Balashova (36) is in the 38th week of pregnancy and at the door of the Trinity of Palermo.

She is a photographer and Marketing specialist, she has not yet decided in which private clinic she is going to have Alina, but

.

With her husband, two children and the baby,

, to avoid the below zero degrees of Kaliningrad, the strategic Russian city embedded in the heart of Europe.

"We want to give our team many more opportunities.

," he highlights.

He did not have much time to read recommendations, because "the departure was quite fast."

But the papers "are already going very well."

Radoslava Zyrianova will return to Russia after giving birth.

Photo: Federico Imas

Radoslava Zyrianova, in the same Palermo sanatorium, answers

to the question why Argentina.

She is a nutritionist and came with her husband and her nine-year-old daughter.

"We are thinking about the future of our children, otherwise we would not leave," she says.

She will return to Russia after having León and all the residency procedures for the rest of the family started.

And although Anastasia Glezdeneva, who is a psychologist and continues to have patients via online therapy, had managed to enter Italy thanks to her husband, Stefano, she decided to give birth in Argentina due to the nationality of the baby and her own citizenship and that of her first child.

With Sofía, who will be born at the Pirovano Hospital,

Anastasia Glezdeneva will stay to live in Argentina.

Photo: Federico Imas

Russian youth

Maxim Lemos is Hanna's boss and the owner of this Russian agency specializing in translations and management.

He clarifies to

that childbirth is just a division within the company and that it began, little by little,

.

The biggest

is Russians alone or as a couple with young children.

"Young people come with a

. It is the population that Russia could best take advantage of, but it is the one that escapes.

They know that everything is going to get worse with the Russians in the world. Of the more than a million that they left, most of them are in Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan (where they can have their accounts and avoid card blocking).

, "describes Lemos.

He says that even though there are "about 5,000 Russians" recently arrived, the concentration is in the City.

"I hear Russian and I see Russian faces everywhere. Even in my building. I also see that you can buy Russian food and have it delivered to you by a Russian, or you can hire a Russian to clean your house.

."

Kirill Makoveev, founder of

, tells

that in 2022 only with his agency he helped more than 100 Russians to give birth here.

And he also has services for "Russians in general."

Why does this profile of Russians also come to Argentina?

"It is

. Many are rentiers or have their companies abroad. They do not seek to work here in a dependency relationship, because

. Nor open businesses, because we know that

. They do seek to offer services, see what Russians and Argentines need. In that they are experts and they are looking for business," he says.

They do not want houses "of grandmothers, with broken windows."

The less demanding go for studio apartments, but modern ones, for Airbnb.

For those who obtain tax residence,

"We still don't provide accounting services for them because we don't have accountants. The ones that exist don't know anything about crypto taxes or double taxation," he notes.

He talks about the fact that there are bilateral agreements through which the tax power is distributed to prevent the same tax on income generated in one of the countries from being taxed twice.

"If they have money abroad, if they want to fix their tax situation here or find out how much taxes they are going to pay in the future, they will find as many opinions as accountants interview.

," he closes.

ACE

look too

The reason behind the phenomenon whereby Russian women pay from $3,000 to give birth in Argentina

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