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Purpose: Our research objective is to carry out an analysis of the motivations and specific decision factors of Brazilian university students who will travel to Spain to continue their studies. Design/methodology: The applied methodology has been to conduct online surveys among members of the Brazilian student community in Spain. For the design of the survey, we started with a previous exploratory study with in-depth individual interviews. The interviews were conducted based on a semistructured questionnaire inspired by the previous literature. Findings: The comparison between the previous studies in the literature and the results of the survey shows that the factors "Academic level of the center" and "Prestige and prospects" of having studied abroad coincide with one another. Indeed, these factors are among the most significant in almost all of the studies and have also been highlighted by the respondents, confirming the importance of these factors in their decision to study abroad. On the other hand, the rest of the factors that appear to be the most relevant in the survey results are specific to and characterize the flow of students analyzed. Specifically, they concern the international experience, scholarships, image and culture of the country and the language. Research limitations/implications: The sample is limited, due to the difficulty of contacting this type of subject, which made it necessary for the researchers to adopt various approach strategies. Practical implications: The results obtained can benefit the recruitment of Brazilian students. Social implications: Contributes to knowledge of the emigration flows and relations between the two countries. Originality/value: The specific topic of Brazilian students in Spain has not been previously discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]