Since 2022, 5.1 thousand Belarusians and Russians have become residents of Argentina, and 2023 was a record-breaking year for this indicator. Pregnancy tourism" remains the main way of obtaining a residence permit.
How many Belarusians and Russians have moved to Argentina
Starting from 2022 and by the beginning of 2024, 5.1 thousand Russians became residents of Argentina. The corresponding data were provided to RBC by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the republic. The maximum number of residence permits for Russians was granted in 2023 - 3.7 thousand, while in 2022 - 919. In January 2024, 501 Russian citizens became residents of Argentina, while for the whole of 2020 residence permits in the republic received 390, in 2021 - 320 Russians.
According to the latest data from the National Directorate of Migration (DNM), a total of 34.7 thousand Russian citizens entered Argentina from 1 January 2022 to June 2023. The maximum was in the fourth quarter of 2022. According to the agency, almost 74% of those who entered during this period left the country (25.7 thousand).
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic explained that the statistics include those entering on all grounds, not only for the purpose of migration. "First of all, it should be understood that these statistics include other categories, such as tourists. It is worth considering that it is possible to enter Argentina as a tourist and then formalise a change of migration status. According to official data from the National Directorate of Migration, more than 11,000 Russians have entered the country [for the purpose of migration] since 2022," Victoria Brusa, a representative of the press service of the Argentine Interior Ministry, told RBC.
According to the data provided by DNM, in 2020, 191 Russian citizens entered the country for the purpose of migration, in 2021 - 199, in 2022 - 2.1 thousand, in 2023 - 8.4 thousand. In 2024, according to current estimates, another 470 Russians entered Argentina for this purpose.
Argentina is considered one of the easiest countries in terms of migration procedures. Russians can stay on its territory without visas for no more than 90 days during each period of 180 days. Tourists are not obliged to leave the country to start the procedure of changing migration status. After submitting documents, an applicant for residence permit receives a so-called precaria (Spanish: Residencia Precaria), i.e. a temporary residence permit in Argentina. It must be renewed every two months.
It is possible to apply for citizenship after two years of stay in the republic. At the same time, parents of a child born in Argentina have the right to a simplified procedure for obtaining a passport: there is no need to wait two years to apply for citizenship.
Argentine passport gives the right to visa-free travel to 170 countries, including the EU, UK, Japan and New Zealand. In addition, its holders are usually granted a tourist visa to the USA for ten years at a time.
Due to a significant increase in re-locations from Belarus and Russia, the terms of granting residence permits are delayed, but the average number of permits issued is growing. According to the data provided by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Argentina to RBC, the January figure for granting residence permits to Russians (501) became the maximum for recent years: so in 2022 the average monthly resident status was received from 50 to 150 Russians, in 2023 - from 201 to 459. In 2021, the maximum monthly residence permit was 43, and in 2020 - 126 Russians.
How Belarusians and Russians do legalization?
Due to the fact that national legislation allows you to obtain Argentine citizenship soon after the birth of a child on its territory, "pregnancy tourism" to this country is widespread. Thus, in 2022, 10.5 thousand pregnant Russian women entered the country. At the beginning of 2023 in Buenos Aires paid attention to this and strengthened control at the border. On 10 February, six pregnant Russian women were denied entry because they could not explain the purpose of the trip (at that time, 33 Russian citizens in late pregnancy arrived in Argentina on an Ethiopian Airlines flight). Later, following a court ruling, the pregnant Russians were allowed to enter.
Around the same time, the DNM interviewed 350 pregnant Russian women who entered the country in recent months and concluded that "mafia organisations" offer pregnant foreign women a paid package that makes it easier to obtain Argentine citizenship after giving birth. The country welcomes those who want to live in it, but those who want to obtain citizenship through "maternity tourism" have other goals, said Florencia Carignano, head of the agency, commenting on these findings.
During the same period, the republic began to suspend and cancel residence permits for Russians who had obtained them through childbirth but did not remain living in the country. Later, Argentine newspaper La Nacion reported that the US initiated the inspection. According to the newspaper, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requested information from Buenos Aires on the results of the investigation of mass arrivals of pregnant Russian women to the country to find out their real motives.
But "pregnancy tourism" to Argentina continues, this method of legalisation remains the easiest.
According to the migration legislation of Argentina, there are 13 categories of applicants for residence permits. Among them:
- category "rentier" (Spanish rentista) - implies confirmation of permanent income abroad;
- foreign pensioners;
- travelling to study;
- refugees;
- as well as those travelling for religious purposes, scientific activities, family reunification, medical treatment, etc., and those travelling for the purpose of travelling to the country.
In order to obtain a residence permit under the "rentier" category, an applicant must provide the Argentine Migration Service with proof of monthly income abroad in excess of five Argentine minimum wages. In June 2023, DNM updated the requirements: it became necessary to show $24 thousand income per year for each family member, and for example, a family of four should have deposited about $100 thousand in an Argentine bank account. However, as the publication Clarin found out, in practice it is impossible, because no bank in the country would not open an account for a non-resident and would not allow to deposit such an amount. After the Russians held a protest outside the DNM building, the requirements were revised. And in October 2023, the agency published new rules that came into force in November: a married couple must keep about $2 thousand a month in the account. At the same time, at the end of February 2024, the Argentine government increased the minimum wage to the equivalent of $202.8 (in December 2023 was $156).
Maria, a Russian woman, moved from Moscow to Buenos Aires in July 2023 while pregnant. Speaking to RBC, she noted that recently the approach to applicants for residence permits and residence permits has become tougher. "If earlier residence permit under the category of "rentier" was issued without any buts, today it is extremely difficult to get it. Applicants for this category even sue the authorities. Obtaining a study visa has also become more complicated. The list of requirements for educational institutions and programmes has expanded. But Argentinean parents began to receive the status of residents faster, the waiting time has reduced," Maria said. After the birth of their child, she and her husband received their DNI document with resident status within a month.
However, the waiting period was not easy, Maria adds. "There are no clear deadlines for processing the application, one cannot plan one's time and certainly not leave the country, as one can be called to clarify data or retake fingerprints. DNI can be cancelled at any time if a person has left the country. There are more and more such cases, so it is not possible to just come, give birth and leave with the documents. Although it is illegal, not everyone will come and sue," she concludes.
Russian Ekaterina also moved to Buenos Aires with her husband. In February 2023 they had a child (an Argentine citizen), and already in April they themselves filed a request for citizenship, but did not wait for a residence permit. "Our turn never came to us, we decided to wait in Russia. Obtaining a passport has nothing to do with obtaining residency status. They are two independent documents. In any case, DNI is updated after the applicant for citizenship receives a passport," the woman explained in a conversation with RBC.
Natalia, from Belarus, moved to Buenos Aires from Minsk in autumn 2023 on a work contract. "I have been waiting for my residence permit for two months already. I am solving this issue in my free time and I am not in a hurry, so the term is delayed. Migration legislation is generally soft, deportation is definitely not threatened," she told RBC, noting that she plans to apply for citizenship in two years.
What has changed under the new president
After libertarian Javier Milay became Argentina's new president in December 2023, the authorities launched a programme of economic "shock therapy". Economy Minister Luis Caputo announced a 50% devaluation of the peso to the dollar to stimulate exporters and a reduction in state subsidies for energy and transport. Milei's reforms are viewed in two ways in Argentine society: some are convinced that he will save the country from another inflation record, while others view the proposed measures with scepticism.
Although Argentina recorded its first budget surplus in decades in January 2024, monthly inflation was 20.6 per cent. Meanwhile, the poverty rate reached 57.4 per cent in January, considered the highest in at least 20 years. According to a report by the economic university Pontificia Universidad Católica, the devaluation of the peso and the resulting price increases have led to this. Today, at least 27 million people are considered poor throughout Argentina, with another 9 million living in extreme poverty (out of a total population of 47.3 million).
Relocants interviewed by RBC describe the situation with prices as follows. "Living in Argentina under Miley has become very expensive: 1kg of chicken breast now costs about 700 instead of 300 rubles, bananas - 300 rubles for 1kg instead of 100 rubles before. Baby food cost about 1.3 thousand rubles three months ago, now it is already 2 thousand rubles. It is not even worth talking about clothes and equipment," says Maria. Natalia agrees: "Prices have gone up. Food, clothes and equipment have gone up in price. There is no sense of a deep crisis, but there is no expectation of significant changes either. Argentines continue to live the life they are accustomed to. At the same time, society is divided between those who believe in the best and those who no longer trust any government."
La Nacion, in its article on the adaptation of Belarusian and Russian relocates in Argentina, calls the main challenges for them the uncertain migration status and obstacles to opening a bank account. The article cites the stories of Russians who have managed to do business in the Argentine capital, opening beauty salons and coffee shops offering the usual raff and cheesecakes that Muscovites are used to. La Nacion journalists note that, although it is still difficult to give a name to this phenomenon, "after two years, coexistence with Russians in Buenos Aires is becoming a reality".
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