Worldwide, the number of students participating in academic mobility programs, as a complement of their education, increased significantly in recent decades. Considering this, this exploratory study aims to understand the international flow of higher education students, from the perspective of those arriving in Lajeado, a medium-sized city located in the countryside of Rio Grande do Sul. For this, it is used quantitative data information obtained from official databases, followed by a qualitative approach based on the application of a questionnaire to students in academic mobility programs at Univates, in 2019. The analysis of the results showed that foreign students come from different countries and continents, with emphasis for Colombians, for females and for an average age of 23 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]