This article critically examines the close tie between host and source countries in producing education migration. Using South Korea and Canada as a case study, our analysis illustrates how the gradual granting/limiting of citizenship to education migrants is ingrained in social policy which contributes to the nation-building of the host country while relying on ‘foreign’ income from the source country, impinging on family life (i.e. splitting family structure trans-nationally), and risking social integration. Although the actors are changed from labor migrants to education migrants the same dynamic of excluding migrants from citizenship and distinguishing worthy migrants from non-worthy migrants remains unchanged.