"If I come to Belarus, it will be as a tourist." An Argentinian wanted to start a business in Belarus, but was deported for a trifle. Now he's allowed to return, but there's a nuance
His Belarusian wife and children will also leave the country with him.
The love story and business plans in Belarus of Argentinian Freddy and his Belarusian wife Marina turned out to be dramatic. After a high-profile deportation, the Ministry of Internal Affairs allowed the man to return to the country, but the couple had already bid farewell to their dream of a Belarusian life, Smartpress writes.
Events in the lives of Argentinian Freddy and his Belarusian wife Marina are unfolding rapidly. In two years of acquaintance, the couple met in Alicante, later moved to live on a farmstead in the Vyalozhyn district, bought horses, and planned to build an unusual hotel.
But on March 14, Freddy was expelled from the country for driving a car without Belarusian driving license.
In September 2024, Freddy moved to live in Belarus. Soon after, he and Marina got married
The media has already reported Freddy's story and how he settled in Belarus.
During snowfalls and frosts, Freddy's house ran out of food, and Marina couldn't get to Kukava from Minsk. So the man got behind the wheel and drove to a store in a neighboring village.
Three horses, two dogs, and rabbits lived with Freddy on the farm. Now the farm has new owners
— It was at that moment that traffic police officers stopped him. My husband wasn't speeding, wasn't drunk, but it turned out that he couldn't drive in Belarus with his Argentinian license. Freddy was fined, and the information went to the migration service. We were called in and told that Freddy could be expelled from the country, — Marina recounted.
It turned out that their plan to build an eco-hotel and ride horses through the forest was about to collapse.
— When the decision to deport my husband was made, it was very hurtful. Freddy, in a fit of emotion, burned all his work clothes on the farm, — Marina says. — On March 14, my husband flew out of Belarus. Then the story was picked up by many accounts on Instagram and TikTok, one of the videos garnered 800 thousand views, and we received a call from the Minsk City Executive Committee's Main Internal Affairs Directorate…
In the short time that has passed since the story broke, Freddy was deported from the country and banned from entering for 3 years. He said goodbye to the Belarusian farmstead he had grown to love and sold all his property. And on those same days, a letter arrived for his wife from the Department for Citizenship and Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
"Taking into account the circumstances outlined in the appeal, the Department has decided to reduce the term of your husband's entry ban to the Republic of Belarus. He is permitted to enter the country's territory from 15.04.2026," the document states.
Marina received this letter from the Department for Citizenship and Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on April 1.
Marina met Freddy during a vacation in Spain
Marina recalls how, after her husband's deportation, she received a call from the police who offered to help her prepare a package of documents to appeal the decision.
— They helped me — and here's the result. I don't understand why Freddy needed to be expelled from the country? — Marina asks. — He didn't do anything terrible.
"Returning home with a new business idea"
Even before the deportation, the couple came up with a backup plan: they would all go together (Marina has a daughter Dayana and a son Philip from her first marriage — author's note) to Argentina, buy a motorhome, and spend two years traveling around the country, looking for a place for a new life. As soon as Freddy left Belarus, the family began preparing for the move: Marina and the children are already collecting documents, and Freddy has found a motorhome where they will live in the near future.
The reporters' call caught the couple on the Milan — Bergamo train. Are they already in Italy?! It's easy to get confused about the spouses' movements. One moment they're on a farmstead in Belarus, the next in the Spanish city of Alicante, where Freddy has a house. And now they've decided to spend a few days in Italy.
Freddy will fly to Argentina first, and Marina and the children will join him in the summer.
— I am returning to my homeland in Argentina. I have a house there, relatives, and I've already come up with a new business idea, — Freddy shares.
"It's not the house we sold that hurts, but the animals"
In a year and a half of living in Belarus, Freddy bought two village houses (the first in the Vyalozhyn district, the second in the Maladzyechna district), renovated them, and came up with a rather unusual hotel where both people and horses could live together. What about his plans for the farm?
— Where should I go? We sold everything: the farmstead with horses in Kukava, the dogs, the car. We put the old school building, which I wanted to turn into a hotel, up for sale, — Freddy notes.
The couple very quickly sold all their property in Belarus.
— In this situation, it's more painful for the animals we had to say goodbye to. We became very attached to them. We considered an option to transport one of the dogs to Argentina. But he's a fighting dog, weighing more than 50 kg, and such dogs are not allowed on planes, — Marina explains.
Lobo had to be left on the farm along with the horses. Now they have new owners.
— We take the loss of the house easier: one home can be sold, another bought. We are not worried about Kukava: our farmstead went to young and interesting people.
"I worked well, I wanted to do business"
Precisely at the moment Freddy left Belarus, the country simplified the procedure for obtaining driving licenses for foreigners. Now, foreigners who want to obtain a license in Belarus and already have a license issued in another country only need to pass a practical exam. The theory test was removed. It had to be taken in Russian, but not all foreigners are fluent in it.
— I know Russian, but not that well, — Freddy previously explained why such a situation arose. — When you take a driving test, you can't use a translator. And they only give 15 minutes…
The Argentinian is glad that in the end his situation was resolved and he was allowed to return, but admits: there's still a bitter taste. He would have liked a more flexible approach to similar stories.
— I worked well, I wanted to do business, — Freddy shrugs. — If I come to Belarus, it will be as a tourist.
On June 1, Marina and the children are flying to Argentina.
— Everything will definitely work out for us, — she is confident. — There is no fear, we are already packing our bags.
As the editorial office later learned, Freddy has already bought a motorhome in Argentina.
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