BACKGROUND:
Aspirations for mobility and security have long shaped Filipino labor migration, yet the health and care needs that emerge in later life remain underexamined. This study examines healthcare access among aging first-generation Filipino migrant workers in Japan and Belgium, two high-income destinations in the Global North, asking how migrants navigate distinct healthcare and welfare regimes while making sense of health as both a lived experience and a claim to social welfare.

METHODS:
The research uses a multi-sited qualitative design, drawing on life-story and semi-structured interviews with aging Filipino migrants in Japan and Belgium (including earlier migration waves from the 1980s onward), through purposive and snowball sampling via community networks and institutional touchpoints. Analysis is anchored in biological citizenship and informed by Fresnoza-Flot’s (2004) humanizing approach to migration decision-making, emphasizing thick contextualization, life-dimensions-focused analysis, and time-situated inquiry.

RESULTS:
Analysis suggests that access is negotiated through more than formal eligibility. Participants describe the practical work of navigating referrals, documentation requirements, language demands, costs, and bureaucratic expectations alongside changing family roles and aging bodies. Citizenship and legal status are experienced as gradients of security and vulnerability that shape whether care is sought, deferred, or managed through everyday strategies. Cross-border reference points, including remembered care in the Philippines, prior encounters with institutions, and perceived differences between Japan and Belgium, inform later-life planning and assessment about what care is feasible and worth pursuing.

CONCLUSIONS:
The study shows that equity and inclusion hinge on how institutions operationalize eligibility, deservingness, and support over time. Findings aim to inform more sustainable, migrant-inclusive pathways to healthcare and social protection for aging populations.