Abstract
This study addresses why undocumented people in the Netherlands fail to exercise their formal legal rights to ‘medically necessary’ healthcare. Drawing on a pilot study (2012–15) conducted in The Hague and Rotterdam, and using the PEER (Participatory Ethnographic and Evaluation Research) methodology with mostly undocumented researchers, the study explores barriers to healthcare access including fear of detection, concerns about medical costs, and negative attitudes of healthcare providers. It examines how undocumented people seek healthcare ‘below the radar’ and theorizes their situation through the lens of liminality and global health justice principles.