With the advent of the World Health Organization End TB strategy, there has been renewed interest in screening for active tuberculosis (TB), and particularly latent tuberculous infection (LTBI). In low-incidence countries, a high proportion of TB cases are notified among migrants, which often occurs due to LTBI reactivation. We aimed to review the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of screening migrants for active TB LTBI to inform and support the TB elimination strategy in low-incidence countries. We carried out a narrative review of English language articles published between 1 January 2000 and 31 June 2016 using the PubMed database. All studies that described the effectiveness or cost-effectiveness of active TB or LTBI screening among migrants were included. We identified 55 studies, and included 40 for the effectiveness of screening, 11 for cost-effectiveness and 4 that reported both. Screening for active TB can be effective and cost-effective depending on the setting, target group and screening approach. Pre-entry screening programmes have some impact on the epidemiology of the receiving countries. The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of LTBI screening as predicted in mathematical models is also highly setting-specific, with best potential results achieved if screening is restricted to high-risk groups and/or to migrants from high-burden countries.