Samenvatting

A common migration law was developed when the EU abolished its internal borders. This common migration law describes which rules are applicable to all EU member states. However it can be said that most of the rules described are only applicable to EU nationals as there are no specific rules for third-country nationals. A third-country national is a person who does not have the nationality of one of the EU member states.
So immigration rules for third-country nationals depend upon the national law of an EU member state and not on EU law. Therefore, more attention will be given to three different EU member states and their national law in relation to third-country nationals, in this case the Mexicans.
This research outlines the immigration rules of the Netherlands, the UK and Spain and the way in which the immigration rules of these countries affect the chances of Mexican students to take part in education. The study is largely restricted to the application of the immigration rules according to the following topics: applying to a university, financial support, visa, residence permit, health check, health insurance, fees and finally the opportunity to work besides the study.
In conclusion it can be said that there are several similarities and differences between the immigration rules of the three countries, which apply to Mexican students. However, the UK and Spain seem to be more attractive for Mexican students as their immigration rules are less strict than those of the Netherlands.