Scandinavian health clinics join forces to improve care for (undocumented) migrants

Every year, for the last 15 years, Nordic non-profit health clinics have been meeting in a different Scandinavian city to discuss health care for undocumented people and other marginalised groups. They exchange experiences and perspectives, learn from each other and strategise about how to move forward in an increasingly hostile context.  

Participants to the 2025 Nordic gathering* included Global Clinics in Helsinki and Turku, Finland; the Health Center for Undocumented Migrants (Church City Mission and the Red Cross) in Oslo and Bergen, Norway; the Swedish chapters of the Red Cross and Doctors of the World in Stockholm, as well as the Rosengrenska Foundation in Gothenburg; and the Health Clinic for Migrants operated by the Danish Red Cross in  four cities in Denmark. 

Healthcare clinics: filling the gaps left by the state 

In all Scandinavian countries, undocumented people have a legal entitlement to emergency care from the public healthcare system, but broader entitlements vary and are limited in different ways. 

Besides legislation, a whole set of practical barriers make it hard for undocumented people to access health care and for health clinics to help. The digitalisation of health care services often means that people without a national registration number are unable to book medical appointments. Medical fees and uncertainty about what is covered by the public system keep many away from doctors and hospitals. 

In this context, the health clinics try to fill the gaps of the public systems: they may provide primary care in drop-in centres, refer patients to specialists, run helplines or advocate for patients’ rights. 

Sweden and Finland: progress under threat 

In Sweden, undocumented people have a right to subsidised care “that cannot be deferred”, based on medical assessment. Similarly, in Finland, a 2023 law grants undocumented people subsidized access to necessary care beyond emergency situations, as defined by a health professional. But recent proposals threaten an already limited access to health care. In Sweden, a plan to oblige some public sector workers to denounce undocumented people to the police is already instilling fear in the migrant community, pushing many to avoid contact with health care institutions. In Finland, the government is discussing a proposal to overturn the 2023 law and limit access to necessary care. 

Ensuring the chain of treatment can also be challenging for marginalised groups who move between countries and do not live in stable accommodation. In Gothenburg, Sweden, a man who needed strict follow-up for his heart disease was refused treatment by a mainstream health care facility because they doubted that he could follow it. It was only thanks to help from Rosengrenska that the facility eventually agreed to plan the follow-up. 

Norway: the realities of care that ‘cannot wait’ 

In Norway, undocumented people are entitled to receive healthcare which is “absolutely necessary and cannot wait”. In these cases, medical fees related to specialist healthcare can be covered by the health institution if the person cannot afford to pay, but this is often not known by the patients or the medical staff.  

In one case, the Oslo Health Center for Undocumented Migrants helped a pregnant woman who was afraid of accessing maternal care in hospital, and made sure that the fees be waived. In 2024 alone, the Oslo Health Center managed to get 375 invoices for specialist care waived. 

Access to GPs is also restricted for undocumented people. In another case reported by the Oslo Health Center, a pregnant woman in her third trimester could not get a prescription to treat a urine tract infection and was only able to receive help from the Oslo Health Center itself at an already late pregnancy stage. 

The notion of “care that cannot wait” is also problematic and may not always include cases of severe health problems. Linnea Näsholm of the Oslo Health Center cited the case of a cancer patient who was denied early treatment because it was not considered “healthcare that cannot wait”: the patient only received treatment at a late stage, palliative, and died. 

Denmark: harsh limits to healthcare 

In Denmark, non-emergency treatment is granted when it is deemed unreasonable to refer the person to treatment in their country of origin, but this is not subsidised. The Danish Red Cross reported the case of a Turkish Middle Eastern 13-year-old child who needed surgery for a lump in her ear that kept growing. Despite having lived in Denmark since she was five, she had only a temporary right to remain while the authorities processed her family reunification application. This “procedural residency” meant she could not access the healthcare she needed. The Red Cross-run health clinic could not operate her as they lack anaesthesia tools and personnel. 

Building connections and sharing knowledge 

In an increasingly hostile environment, Nordic health clinics make connections and draw inspiration from each other to develop their services and advocate for better access to health care.  

The Nordic annual gatherings are an important moment for the clinics to reconnect, learn and strategise. Matti Wirehag of Rosengrenska said, “Having the possibility to see each other every year is also about feeling that you’re not alone. There aren’t many people working on these issues in the Nordic countries”. 

A dental clinic run by the Danish Red Cross in Copenhagen inspired the Oslo Health Center to open one in Norway. Using lessons from Finnish colleagues’ advocacy work around primary healthcare, the Oslo and Bergen Health Center successfully inspired the Bergen municipality to include undocumented patients in a public primary healthcare facility. 

Sweden-based Rosengrenska found out about the interventions of Finnish municipalities in opening social housing to marginalised groups and has been using this argument in its advocacy towards the Gothenburg municipality.  

“This knowledge doesn’t exist in writing”, said Rikke Dalsted of the Danish Red Cross, “It’s a large database of living people, it’s super important. And that’s why we have to keep going.” 

*PICUM supported the 2025 Nordic Gathering, which took place in Stockholm in May.