Introduction

In March 2020, as the COVID-19 epidemic was spreading across the Western Hemisphere, The Lancet warned of the heightened vulnerabilities of migrant and refugee populations, and stated that it was of the utmost importance to develop preparedness plans and responses that were inclusive of refugee and migrant health (Kluge et al, 2020). These concerns stemmed from the pre-existing precarities and societal exclusion of refugee and migrant populations around the world, including in Europe. With the pandemic, the ‘leave no one behind’ pledge of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development gained pressing importance in relation to migrants and refugees (Lancet, 2020). A few studies have looked at the vulnerabilities of migrants and refugees in general during the COVID-19 pandemic (an example is Lange et al, 2020), but within these groups layers of vulnerability and societal exclusion significantly differ according to several factors, including migration status. Among the most vulnerable are irregular (or undocumented) migrants, those who lack residency rights as they do not fulfil the legal requirements for entering and/or staying in a country.

Throughout the decades preceding the pandemic, owing to the lack of residency rights, irregular migrants’ exclusion from measures and policies of public support, including in the area of health care, had not only been possible, but was also persistently emboldened by national policies focused on creating a ‘hostile environment’ for migrants without residency rights (Goodfellow, 2020). Although their current number in Europe is not known, the definition of ‘irregular migrants’ encompasses numerous groups. Aside from those who entered a country without the required authorisation, many entered officially (with a visa or a residence permit), but then lost their residency rights and did not leave. These ‘overstayers’ are deemed to constitute the largest share of irregular migrants in Europe. They include, among others, rejected asylum seekers, migrant workers whose employment has terminated, migrants with a permit tied to a spousal relationship following the end of that relationship, and students who remain in a host country beyond the terms allowed in their permit. Children may also be considered irregular migrants from birth if they are born in a country where their parents reside with an irregular status. In other contexts, a child may be considered to be regularly residing, but then fall into irregularity at their eighteenth birthday (Triandafyllidou and Bartolini, 2020).