Because of current economic crisis, numbers of emigrants from Spain have dramatically arisen since 2008. Official statistics do not reflect accurately this trend, since many emigrants do not choose registration in destination countries. It is assumed that a significant share of these emigrants is highly skilled. The paper analyses extensive fieldwork data collected from Spanish and Italian immigrants in Mexico, and it explores reasons for immigration into the country, labour trajectories before and after migration and the role of social networks for moving inside Mexican labour markets.This paper argues that skilled migration is far from being homogeneous and current economic crisis on Southern Europe makes even more difficult attempts to make any generalization on this immigrant group in Mexico. Moreover decisions to migrate, labour and social incorporations in destination countries varies greatly depending on immigrant’s characteristics, personal circumstances, as well as perceptions and views on labour markets and countries.In this context, this paper presents results of a research project on highly skilled migrants from Southern Europe (Italy and Spain) to four Mexican cities (Ciudad de México, Guadalajara, Monterrey and Puebla). This paper proposes the study of a group of people who constitute a good example of the growing diversity of contemporary international migration patterns: young skilled migrants (less than 29 years-old). In total, we interviewed 42 people who arrived since 2008 and who were less than 29 years old at the moment of their arriving.

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