Access of migrants and refugees to healthcare
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly
debate on 25 June 2026 (25th sitting) (see Doc. 16412, report of the Committee on Migration, International Protection
and Economic Co-operation, rapporteur: Ms Pelin Yılık; and Doc. 16441, opinion of the Committee on Social Affairs, Health
and Sustainable Development, rapporteur: Ms Yuliia Ovchynnykova). Text adopted by the Assembly on 25 June
2026 (25th sitting).
1. The Parliamentary Assembly affirms
the imperative nature of ensuring that migrants and refugees have effective
access to healthcare, including mental healthcare, in order to fully
realise the fundamental right to health as enshrined in international
human rights law for all persons, and underscores that such access
is also essential from a public health perspective.
2. The importance of applicable international and regional legal
instruments, in particular the European Convention on Human Rights
(ETS No. 5) (notably Articles 3 and 8), as interpreted in the case
law of the European Court of Human Rights, as well as relevant principles
of international humanitarian law, cannot be underestimated when
it comes to ensuring the protection of migrants, refugees and asylum
seekers, including with regard to access to healthcare. Moreover,
member States that are Parties to the European Social Charter (ETS
No. 35) and the European Social Charter (revised) (ETS No. 163)
undertake to ensure “the effective exercise of the right to protection
of health” (Article 11) and to uphold the right to social and medical
assistance for anyone without adequate protection (Article 13).
The instruments mentioned above are important to achieving the United
Nations Sustainable Development Goals, in particular those relating
to universal health coverage and the effective management of health
emergencies.
3. Recommendation CM/Rec(2011)13 of the Committee of Ministers
to member states on mobility, migration and access to health care
underscores the responsibilities of national and local authorities
and the key role of organisations working to maintain and restore
health.
4. The Assembly has repeatedly drawn attention to migrants’ and
refugees’ precarious health and their difficulties in accessing
health and social services, including in
Resolution 2504 (2023) “Health and
social protection of undocumented workers or those in an irregular
situation” and
Resolution 2627 (2025) “Promoting universal
health coverage”.
5. Migrants face extreme physical and mental precariousness when
arriving on European soil. Their health situation is shaped by a
combination of structural, institutional and individual factors
that may significantly hinder effective access to healthcare and
exacerbate existing conditions. These include, inter alia, legal and administrative
barriers; insufficient availability, accessibility or continuity
of healthcare services, including vaccination; inadequate reception
conditions and precarious living or employment situations; as well
as individual challenges such as limited knowledge of rights, fear
of approaching authorities or services, language and health literacy
barriers, stigma, distrust and the cumulative impact of perilous
and traumatic migration journeys.
6. Women and girls in migration are disproportionately exposed
to trafficking, sexual and gender-based violence and exploitation,
and they face intersectional discrimination based on sex, migration
status, poverty, disability and age. These factors, compounded by
legal and administrative barriers, language obstacles, lack of information
and inadequate screening and referral, limit timely access to essential
services, including sexual and reproductive and maternal healthcare,
mental health support and protection services. Moreover, there is insufficient
training for professionals and there are gaps in culturally appropriate
care. Failure to ensure targeted access exacerbates maternal morbidity,
untreated trauma and intergenerational harms to children, including
developmental and psychiatric disorders. The Assembly therefore
underscores the need for gender-responsive, trauma-informed and
accessible healthcare pathways for women and girls.
7. With regard to migrant children, the Assembly underlines the
necessity to harmonise age assessment procedures for unaccompanied
children, consistent with Recommendation CM/Rec(2022)22 of the Committee of
Ministers to member States on human rights principles and guidelines
on age assessment in the context of migration.
8. The Assembly thus invites Council of Europe member States,
as well as States whose parliament enjoys observer status with the
Assembly, to:
8.1 avoid relying
on externalised migration and asylum policies, including return
hubs, which systematically curtail healthcare access or shift protection
burdens onto areas lacking the necessary infrastructure and safeguards;
8.2 strengthen their domestic legal framework through stable
national migration legislation, with a view to including migrants
and refugees in national health insurance schemes, emphasising preventive primary
care;
8.3 move towards a universal healthcare framework for migrants,
in line with the European Social Charter and the central political
commitment of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
and the subject of target 8 of Sustainable Development Goal 3. This
implies facilitating access to adequate healthcare cover for all
foreign nationals lawfully residing in the country, including improved
access to relevant medicines and in sufficient quantities, and ensuring
the availability of adequate healthcare infrastructure, including
purpose-built premises with fully equipped consultation rooms and
spaces;
8.4 commit to protecting migrants’ and refugees’ health and,
more broadly, public health in the short and long term. This implies
equality and inclusion in healthcare through integrated migrant
health policies and investment in culturally sensitive preventive
and primary care, including in reception and detention centres,
in “hotspots” and in hospitals;
8.5 ensure, with regard to mental health, access of migrants
and refugees to psychological and psychiatric care and treatment
to respond to symptoms of anxiety, depression or post-traumatic
stress disorder. When appropriate, and as recommended by the European
Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), the Assembly recommends
developing strategic plans for the sustained support of persons
fleeing war and other emergencies, with an emphasis on addressing
mental health needs and delivering psychosocial support through
community-based approaches, including in schools and reception settings;
8.6 ensure access of migrants and refugees to information
about their rights. This implies providing effective communication
on services and materials related to health, including through brochures
and other written information available in an appropriate range
of languages. The Assembly also strongly encourages the relevant
authorities to provide interpretation services and cultural mediators
in relevant languages, with appropriate culturally sensitive training;
8.7 collaborate with international health organisations to
develop secure, interoperable and portable digital patient summaries
for refugees and asylum seekers in transit, ensuring that essential
medical history, immunisation records and allergy data travel with
the patient, thereby reducing redundant testing and preventing treatment
interruptions.
9. The Assembly further encourages health authorities to:
9.1 ensure that migrants and refugees
have free access to healthcare from the moment of first arrival, including
emergency and other necessary healthcare (such as maternal and neonatal
care, essential treatment of chronic diseases and urgent mental
health support), as well as access to vaccination and medicines.
In this context, health authorities should prevent public and private
healthcare providers from reporting migrants who are irregularly
present in the country to the immigration authorities. The Assembly
further encourages a systematic comprehensive medical examination
by a healthcare professional to identify vulnerabilities and ensure
appropriate placement, including for vulnerable populations such
as women and unaccompanied children;
9.2 invite healthcare professionals to pay particular attention
to the existence of any injuries. They should also screen for transmissible
diseases, including systematic screening for signs of tuberculosis and
voluntary testing for human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis
B/C; chronic diseases; and long-term conditions such as diabetes.
Such policies help to prevent and tackle ill-treatment and to protect public
health overall. However, the Assembly underlines that the decision
to segregate a person for health reasons should be limited in duration
and grounded in the principles of necessity, proportionality and
respect for human dignity;
9.3 strengthen the capacities and qualifications of healthcare
staff, including general practitioners, nurses and psychosocial
support staff;
9.4 facilitate the recognition of professional qualifications
of refugees and migrants who are trained healthcare professionals,
so that they can contribute to domestic health systems and to delivering culturally
and linguistically appropriate care to migrant populations.
10. The Assembly furthermore encourages Council of Europe member
States concerned to fully implement the European Social Charter
and to make full use of the opportunities provided by the Council
of Europe Development Bank to strengthen healthcare infrastructure,
equipment and staffing, in particular in reception and detention
centres.
11. Finally, the Assembly calls on its own members, in their capacity
both as national lawmakers and as members of the Assembly, to act
at European and domestic levels to promote the relevant Council
of Europe instruments, standards and expertise as well as to align
national legislation and practice with the recommendations set out
above.
