Migration Jurisprudence from the South › Colombia
Health care for Venezuelan migrants (T-210/18)
Constitutional Court of Colombia · Colombia · 2018-06-01 · National court
Citation: T-210/18
Type of case: Constitutional and human rights
Outcome: Decided for the migrant side
Question
Must public hospitals treat migrants without papers beyond the bare emergency?
What the court decided
Yes. Emergency care for undocumented migrants can include treatment for serious illness such as cancer, and the state must help them regularise to join the health system.
In plain language
A Venezuelan woman with cancer and a sick child were refused treatment in Colombia because they had no papers. The Constitutional Court said emergency care must cover their serious illnesses.
Dalam bahasa sederhana
Seorang perempuan Venezuela penderita kanker dan anaknya yang sakit ditolak berobat di Kolombia karena tidak punya dokumen. MK menyatakan layanan darurat harus mencakup penyakit serius mereka.
Pertanyaan: Haruskah rumah sakit umum merawat migran tanpa dokumen lebih dari sekadar darurat?
What happened afterwards
- 2018: Judgment.
- 2021: Temporary Protection Statute for Venezuelans. [Not a result of the case alone.]
Sources
Open this decision in the interactive collection (compare, filter, Indonesian view, downloads).
Cite as: Institute for Migrant Rights (2026), Migration Jurisprudence from the South, version 0.1, https://theimr.org/court-decisions/d/co-t-210-2018/. This page summarizes a court decision for research and advocacy; it is not legal advice.