Provision of Health Services to Irregular Migrants with a Special Focus on Children

Abstract

All European countries are now facing a situation where a part of the population consists of migrants without a permit to stay or reside. These persons may have health problems, and the question then rises regarding health services to irregular migrants. Normally, welfare benefits are offered those with a relationship to the country concerned, as citizen, asylum seeker, tourist, etc. Irregular migrants are outside the society, and it could be suggested that they therefore should be denied health services. On the other hand, common European standards of humanity lay obligations on the States, for example, where situations are life-threatening. This contribution gives an overview of relevant legal instruments, both from the UN, Council of Europe and the European Union. Although there are many similarities, the instruments have their differences, and there may even be some tensions regarding the underlying values.

How do international human rights influence national healthcare provisions for irregular migrants?: A case study in France and the United Kingdom

“…As argued by Sövig (2011) The argument that those whose health issues are not considered an emergency could pay for treatment raises further questions, including how to deal with those who are not able to pay because they are children. Whilst the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)…”

“…requires that irregular children have the same access to healthcare as children with a legal permit of stay or nationals, the legal situation is unclear and there are national variations (Sövig 2011). Several NGOs also argue that this rule is discriminatory not only because it would treat residents of the same country differently, but also because it would make irregular migrants pay twice for healthcare, i.e.…”

The Politicised Biology of Irregular Migrants: <i>Micropractices of control, tactics of everyday life and access to healthcare</i>

“…4 Irregular migrants may undergo an assessment of somatic and psychological health within primary and specialist healthcare services. They also have quite extensive rights under the 1994 Act on Infectious Diseases (Søvig 2011), as is the case in several other European countries. However, these rights are not necessarily tied to concern for the irregular migrant patient as much as they are intended to address Norwegian citizens' health concerns.…”

“…The 'Nordic welfare model' is thus characterised by public funding of the health sector and represents an area of comprehensive control management by the government. In cases in which there are fees (with the exception for children under the age of 16 years), these are quite low, and specialised healthcare providers do not charge at the point of use (Søvig 2011).…”

“…The past decade has seen an increase in research on irregular migrants and access to healthcare in Europe and the USA (Biswas et al 2011;Castañeda 2013;Hjelde 2010;Miklavcic 2011;Søvig 2011;Woodward, Howard & Wolffers 2014), but more is needed. For countries of the European Union (EU), such research shows that legal entitlement does not necessarily result in access (Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants [PICUM] 2010; Woodward, Howard & Wolffers 2014).…”