This paper represents a holistic study of the multifaceted notion of stranded migrants, which gained renewed attention by international actors in the past decade, and especially in relation to the 2011 uprising and consequent conflict in Libya and the current crisis in Syria. However, the call for new action concerning the protection of this group of migrants appears to be constrained by a lack of analysis of the phenomenon. This paper therefore studies the notion from a historical perspective, interrelated with a survey of the situation on the ground, and a review of previous and current international understanding of the notion. After deriving concrete characteristic of the group of stranded migrants and concluding, that stranded migrants can be found anywhere, unrelated to geography and previous legal status, the paper focuses on vulnerabilities of migrants and stranded migrants.