Migration to and within the European Union (EU) can take several forms and the experience of migration can have varying implications for migrants who come to or move around the EU. Migrants may be asylum seekers, refugees, undocumented migrants and economic or labour migrants. Each of these groups has access to different social rights.

EU Member State policies on homeless migrants’ rights can vary. In some States, access to publicly-funded homeless services is denied to non-nationals and to undocumented migrants. Other States provide unconditional support for all. However, scarcity of resources puts strain on service-providers and risks creating a situation where a choice between national and non-national service users is made. Moreover, many service providers have difficulty supporting service users with different needs from their “traditional” users.