The name is pretty self-explanatory, birth tourism is when expecting mothers travel to another country to give birth. There are multiple reason parents may choose to do that, among which gaining access, for their children and themselves, to stronger passports.
While the practice isn’t new, it has been booming among Russian women who, since the war in Ukraine started, increasingly choose to give birth in another country, especially Argentina.
1. Citizenship rights
There are generally two laws that countries apply when it comes to citizenship: jus soli (soil right) and jus sanguinis (blood right). The former means people born on the territory of that country are automatically entitled to citizenship, while the latter means the baby gets the citizenship of one of their parents, even if they are born in a different country.
Some states may also apply the jus soli principle with certain restrictions. For the child to be granted citizenship of the country they are born in, one of the parents needs to also have that citizenship or at least be a legal resident of that country for a certain number of years.
2. Why give birth in another country?
There are many reasons for which parents may choose to have their baby in a different country, ranging from quality of medical care and affordability of birth services to later benefits for the child, as well as for the parents.
Countries like Mexico or Argentina offer a faster naturalization process for parents whose babies are born there. They can apply for a residency permit much faster and do not have to wait as long as usual until they can then apply for citizenship, thus gaining quicker access to stronger passports.
Besides having access to stronger passports, another frequent reason parents chose to give birth in another country is the cost of medical services, especially in the US. The American healthcare system is notoriously expensive, so it is not uncommon for women to give birth in neighbouring states.
On the other hand, some expecting parents may choose to pay more if they feel the country they live in does not offer qualitative enough medical services. They are more comfortable travelling abroad, sometimes paying more, but receiving better medical assistance at birth.
In countries like China and Singapore, that have policies in place on how many children a family is allowed to have, women travel abroad to give birth to bypass this limitation. Chinese expecting mothers also frequently travel to Hong Kong to give birth, so the babies get the right of permanent residence, thus, if the children later want to move back to the special administrative region, they do not need to apply for a visa.
