Crackdown on ‘birth tourism’ as pregnant Russians flock to Argentina

‘We cannot allow them to shamelessly lie to us saying that they are tourists when they are not,’ said the head of Argentina’s immigration office. Photograph: I Love Images/Alamy

Immigration authorities in Argentina are cracking down on Russian women who since the invasion of Ukraine have started travelling to Buenos Aires to give birth in order to gain Argentinian citizenship for their children.

The director of Argentina’s immigration office, Florencia Carignano, said on Friday that a judicial investigation has been launched into what she described as a lucrative business that promises Argentinian passports for the Russian parents.