Book excerpt: In recent years the EU has been active in developing a common European immigration policy in cooperation with third countries and in building an “external dimension” of such an EU policy. The linkages between the EU’s external relations and migration policies have influenced the distinct legal positions of third-country nationals (non-EU nationals). This book critically discusses whether the EU’s objective of creating a common EU migration policy can be achieved against the backdrop of a highly fragmented EU framework for migration law and policy, and it argues that it is difficult to speak of one single, unitary group of third-country nationals forming the counterpart to EU citizens.