Having suffered a back injury, the man had tried to register as an NHS patient with his local GP but had been refused because the surgery’s staff thought he could not be considered to be ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland.

The adviser contacted Business Services Organisation, which makes decisions in such cases, and asserted the client’s rights to access to healthcare as the husband of an EU national exercising EU treaty rights.

The Law Centre secured registration for the client and agreement that future requests for registration by people in similar circumstances would be handled in the same way.

Misconceptions about migrants’ rights to access free healthcare can lead to hardship. Advisers encountering similar cases are welcome to contact the Law Centre’s community care legal advice line, 028 9024 4401, 9.30am to 1pm, Monday to Friday.