Abstract Background In Europe, a substantial percentage of the 22 million inhabitants with histories of migration from non-European countries utilize healthcare in their countries of origin. That could reflect avoidance of healthcare in the country of residence, but this has not been studied previously. Methods We linked Dutch healthcare reimbursement data to the multi-ethnic population-based data from the HELIUS study conducted in Amsterdam. In multivariable logistic regression and negative binomial generalized estimating equation (GEE) analyses, we examined associations between healthcare use in country of origin and in country of residence by people with Turkish and with Moroccan backgrounds (N = 2920 and N = 3031, respectively) in the period 2010–15. Results Participants with Turkish and Moroccan backgrounds who utilized healthcare one or multiple times in the country of origin (n = 1335 and n = 558, respectively) were found to be more likely, in comparison with non-users (n = 1585, n = 2473), to be frequent attenders of services by general practitioners, medical specialists and/or allied health professionals in the Netherlands [odds ratios between 1.21 (95% CI 0.91–1.60) and 3.15 (95% CI 2.38–4.16)]. GEE analyses showed similar results. Conclusion People with Turkish or Moroccan backgrounds living in the Netherlands who use healthcare in their countries of origin are more likely than non-users to be higher users of healthcare in the Netherlands. We thus found no indications for avoidance of healthcare in the country of residence.