Healthcare as a Border: The Role of Welfare State Models in Regulating EU Migrant Mobility

This article examines the evolving dynamics of migration control in the European Union, where traditional state borders are being redefined. As governance shifts to private and local actors, healthcare access increasingly serves as a tool of internal bordering, regulating migrant mobility and social rights within different welfare state models. Focusing on the experiences of free-moving EU migrants in Germany, Sweden, and the UK (an EU member at the time of this study), the research shows how healthcare provision selectively includes or excludes migrants. The findings reveal that these bordering strategies vary by welfare state model: the liberal welfare state model, as seen in the UK, aligns more closely with the EU’s ideal of free mobility, while the social-democratic model, exemplified by Sweden, struggles to accommodate this type of mobility, highlighting significant tensions in the EU’s commitment to universal access.