Preliminary medical and vulnerability checks during screening of third-country nationals: fundamental rights considerations

Overall objective

The research aims to examine the practical implementation of preliminary medical and vulnerability checks across several EU Member States and assess their effectiveness in identifying health needs, vulnerabilities and specific protection concerns. FRA will pay particular attention to the identification of non-visible vulnerabilities, referral mechanisms, safeguards for persons with specific needs, including individuals who may have experienced sexual violence, unaccompanied children, cooperation between actors involved in screening, and factors affecting the quality and consistency of the implementation of these checks. The study will also identify operational challenges and promising practices that may contribute to a fundamental rights-compliant implementation of screening procedures.

Timeline and implementation modalities

The fieldwork component of the research will start in 2026 and end in March 2027. It will apply a mixed-methods approach combining qualitative and quantitative data collection across different screening contexts, including land, sea and air border locations, as well as in-country screening facilities.

Data collection will include participatory observation of screening facilities; focus groups with professionals involved in medical and vulnerability checks; interviews with guardians and representatives of unaccompanied children; separate focus groups with men and women who have undergone screening; and the collection of some operational data on staffing and caseloads.

Medical examinations and vulnerability interviews themselves will not be observed to preserve confidentiality.

Planned results

The research will provide FRA with comparative evidence on how medical and vulnerability checks are organised and implemented in practice across different Member States and screening settings. It will identify strengths, challenges and implementation gaps affecting the identification of health needs and vulnerabilities, access to referrals and safeguards, and the protection of fundamental rights. The findings will also document promising practices and operational solutions that can support effective, child-sensitive, gender-sensitive and rights-compliant implementation of screening procedures. The results will inform FRA’s advice and expertise to the European Commission, Member States and relevant EU agencies involved in the implementation of the Pact on Migration and Asylum.