Rotterdam is a port city located in Western Europe in the South-West of the Netherlands. With a population of 588,490 in 2021, it is the second city of the country, after Amsterdam. Rotterdam is a superdiverse city that is home to more than 170 nationalities. In 2021, 52,9% of Rotterdam residents had a migration background.

According to most recent estimates , the number of undocumented immigrants in the Netherlands is around 22.711. In 2020, 3.640 persons were found to be present without authorization in the Netherlands and 21.100 Non-EU citizens were ordered to leave the territory. While estimates for the city of Rotterdam are dated, it was estimated that there were 11.069 undocumented migrants in Rotterdam in 1998. In 2018, there were 1.371 reported irregular arrivals in the Rotterdam Port.

Dutch migration policies have over time become more restrictive. Due to the 1998 Linking Act, people without a residence permit are excluded from public services of the welfare state and obliged to leave the country. Yet, many migrants stay in the country for various reasons and hope to get asylum, or to continue their residency without status, often under precarious living conditions. Since 2018, the government implemented and subsidizes local initiatives in the form of the LVV (Landelijke Vreemdelingen Voorzieningen). Five municipalities (Utrecht, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Groningen, Eindhoven) participated in the LVV pilot together with Dienst Terugkeer en Vertrek (DT&V), de Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst (IND), AVIM, and expert organizations to offer local services for undocumented migrants. Rotterdam is part of the LVV pilot and has a BBB-regulation (Bed, Bath, Bread) in collaboration with the government, municipality, and local organizations to combat homelessness among undocumented migrants.

In light of the above, we consider Rotterdam to be an important arrival city for undocumented migrants in Western Europe. The URBIMM project seeks to better grasp how the field of urban migration infrastructures is structured, how they engage in local service provision and policy practices towards undocumented migrants and how this affects the mobility trajectories of migrants on the move in and beyond Rotterdam.