Abstract

This article links the internationalization of higher education with the migration phenomenon that Chile has been experiencing since the decade of 1990. Based on an exploratory and qualitative research, that conducted semi-structured interviews with nine youngsters from Latin America and the Caribbean, and now living in Chile, the article describes several experiences that young migrants have made by entering to the university. Results show that the main challenge is to finance the high costs of involving in university studies in Chile. The extended waiting periods - up to three years - to get a visa of definitive residence hinders the access to student benefits that the public policy is offering. A second problematic situation is the access to information for applying to the university and the available benefits. Recommendations focus on the described problems.