Retired EU migrants, healthcare rights and European social citizenship

Dwyer, PJ

Abstract

Drawing on a set of 210 qualitative interviews conducted in
six European countries, this paper investigates the citizenship status and
experiences of retired EU migrants at both national and European levels. The
paper focuses upon the experiences of two types of respondents: ‘Retired
Migrants’ (retired nationals of one EU country who moved on retirement and
reside in another EU host state) and ‘Returnees’, that is, those migrants who
have chosen to return to their country of origin after a period of residence
abroad. In particular, this paper will attempt to explore three issues: (a) The
extent to which retired migrants have access to, and make use of, the public
healthcare systems of the countries in which they reside. (b) Retired migrants’
perceptions and experiences of those systems. (c) Whether or not a lack of access
to and/or the quality of public healthcare is an important determinant of return
migration decisions, i.e. moves back to the country of origin. By focusing on
healthcare the paper combines an analysis of the formal welfare rights available
to EU citizens who migrate on retirement (both in terms of their EU rights and
their status in the receiving and exporting countries) with qualitative evidence
that documents the substantive reality of such rights.

Citation

Dwyer, P. (2001). Retired EU migrants, healthcare rights and European social citizenship. Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 23(3), 311-327. https://doi.org/10.1080/01418030126399

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2001
• Deposit Date: Jan 17, 2011
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 5, 2016
• Journal: Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law
• Print ISSN: 0964-9069
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 23
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 311-327
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01418030126399
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01418030126399