On social networks, several influencers promote “Birth Tourism”. Here’s why this new trend is controversial.
Social networks are very often the starting point for many controversies. In recent days, influencers have made Internet users react by advocating a trend, already denounced several years ago. Birth Tourism, also called Birth Tourism involves traveling to a foreign country to give birth in order to obtain a passport for your child. The newly born baby thus benefits from dual nationality thanks to the right to land. And that’s not all: by doing this, parents can also acquire permanent residence in order to be able to raise their child in their native country. The countries that attract the most young parents are the United States, Canada, but also Brazil, Mexico, Australia, Costa Rica and Hong Kong.
On the social network TikTok, certain influencers, like the Australian Shannen Michaela, do not hesitate to reveal their “complete guide to the right to asylum” by explaining how to obtain an additional passport for your family. “I flew from Australia to Costa Rica to give birth and give my child an extra passport. I know from experience how much research, time and energy goes into the whole process; especially if you’re planning to get a passport in a country you’ve never visited before!”, she advises. This young mother sees it above all as “an investment” for her family, for the future of her child and for generations to come.
Birth Tourism: a controversial trend
The problem is that this method of childbirth is perceived positively when the parents are particularly well-off. Conversely, an Internet user says that when his parents exiled themselves from their country so that he could be born elsewhere, they were considered immigrants “stealing other people’s work.” An opportunistic and hypocritical trend therefore, denounced by many Internet users in their comments: “This is the most privileged thing I’ve seen in a long time”; “It’s legal if you’re white, but it’s an ‘anchor baby’ if you’re not white”; “This is seriously ‘classy if you’re rich’ but ‘dirty if you’re poor’ behavior.