<p>Access to health care services is characterised by six dimensions of barriers and incentives and represents a key parameter for the health care system. In diverse urban neighbourhoods, a mix of socio-culturally influenced access barriers and incentives exists. Based on an overview of the research domains of migrant health and research on access, factors influencing the access to health services of migrants and persons with a migration background (in short: migrants) are presented. The study sites are the diverse neighbourhoods of Bonn-Tannenbusch and Cologne-Mülheim.</p><p>The results are based on a qualitative research design: 18&#xa0;migrants and six experts from both neighbourhoods were questioned in semi-standardised interviews. They report on barriers to access, such as the effect of shame and fear of stigmatisation. Barriers also arise as a result of culturally informed health understandings of migrants, some of which are not known or shared by health care providers. Conversely, a shared understanding of health can serve as an important incentive for access. The same applies to specific traditional or alternative medical treatment methods.</p><p>This exploratory study highlights the necessity of a multidimensional view of access. The established field of accessibility research makes important contributions to access research, particularly through modelling and scenarios of accessibility, which, however, should not equate to access. With this approach, health geography can therefore contribute to a conceptually differentiated analysis of access.</p>