This article deals with two key legal issues for study abroad (SA) in Europe, namely (i) the lack of a comprehensive and legislative definition of SA, and (ii) the need to shift from the concept of non-EU "student immigration" to that of student mobility. Italy is the only EU Member State to recognise and define SA, with the other 26 EU states in a legal limbo of not having SA recognised by the domestic laws of the host country Case studies of these challenges are presented for Ireland, Italy, and Spain. This article also discusses student immigration rules, which have become a bureaucratic obstacle to SA in the EU The authors propose a new and specific "SA entry visa" at the EU level. This proposal helps shift the legal framework from one legalistic and grounded in immigration to one more fit-for-purpose, i.e., centring student mobility.