As discussed in a previous SPICe blog, the UK-EU summit which took place in May 2025 led to three agreements, one of which was the Common Understanding on a renewed agenda for European Union – United Kingdom cooperation. As the blog highlighted, the proposals for developing the relationship were by and large commitments without detail, with negotiations required to fill in specific arrangements.
Among the key outcomes was a commitment to strengthen opportunities for young people to work, study, volunteer and travel in the UK and EU. The commitment has generally been referred to by the UK Government as a proposal for a UK-EU ‘youth experience scheme’. This blog looks at UK-EU youth mobility before and after EU exit and provides updates on the ongoing youth experience negotiations following the UK-EU summit.
This blog was first published on 5 December 2025 and updated on 17 December 2025 following the joint announcement by the UK Government and European Commission that the United Kingdom will associate to Erasmus+ for 2027.
Previous SPICe blogs on the UK-EU summit and its outcomes are listed below:
You can navigate the current blog using the contents pop-out below:
Youth mobility and Erasmus+
Before the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, freedom of movement enabled young people from the UK to easily participate in study, work, and volunteering opportunities across Europe. In addition, the UK participated in EU funding programmes, such as Erasmus+, to facilitate exchanges of young and working people between EU member states. The eligibility of UK citizens to live, work, or study in an EU Member State now depends on the national immigration laws and visa requirements of the host country.
Further details on the UK’s decision to discontinue involvement in Erasmus+ and the Scottish Government’s initial response are available in this SPICe blog (January 2021).
The European Commission proposal to open negotiations on a youth mobility scheme
Following the UK’s withdrawal from Erasmus+, the UK, Welsh, and Scottish Governments each established their own student mobility funding programmes known as Turing, Taith and SEEP, respectively. However, the lack of a bespoke visa scheme (akin to that available for young people traveling to the UK from countries such as Australia and South Korea) between the UK and EU meant that youth mobility remained a significant priority for the EU in discussions to develop the relationship with the UK.
The route to the current negotiations on a youth experience scheme started with an opinion issued by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) which called for the European Commission to negotiate an EU-UK youth mobility scheme and the reintegration of the UK into the EU programmes Erasmus+ and Creative Europe. Following the EESC opinion, the European Commission published a recommendation that EU member state governments agree to open negotiations with the UK Government for an agreement on youth mobility between the EU and the UK (dated 18 April 2024). More information on the European Commission proposal is provided in this SPICe blog published in April 2024. At that time no progress was made as the then UK Government indicated it did not wish to pursue a scheme and consequently the Council of the European Union did not authorise the opening of negotiations.
Support for a youth mobility scheme ahead of the EU-UK Summit
Despite no progress being made towards negotiating a scheme during 2024, several EU–UK and Scottish bodies, such as the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly and the Scottish Parliament Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee, expressed support for initiatives aimed at enhancing youth mobility following the European Commission’s recommendation to open negotiations with the UK on a youth mobility scheme.
The Scottish Government published a position paper on a youth mobility agreement with the EU on 24 April 2025. The paper stated:
Youth mobility is not a replacement for freedom of movement but it is important in its own right.
Concluding a UK-EU youth mobility agreement will help young people to experience life in other countries increasing mutual understanding and creating lifelong links. It is important that any agreement retains the flexibilities of the current youth mobility visa routes. Any constraints that are put in place in relation to a cap on numbers or cost should be designed to minimise the impact on the ability of young people to benefit from these routes.
[…].
We note that the EU’s previous proposals on this area have touched on the question of the fee-paying status of EU students who would come to the UK under such an agreement. In regard to student funding it will be vital if this is part of any agreement that proper consideration is given to the differential approach to funding, the views of higher education institutions, and that no ‘funding gap’ is created which could be to the detriment of universities in Scotland.
UK-EU Summit commitments on youth mobility
Up until weeks before the UK-EU Summit in May 2025, the current UK Government had been reiterating that there were no plans to rejoin Erasmus+ or for a bespoke EU-UK youth mobility scheme. However, shortly before the UK-EU Summit, the UK Government stopped ruling out such a youth mobility visa scheme.
At the summit, the UK and EU adopted a Joint Statement and published a Common Understanding based on the exploratory talks from the summit. The Common Understanding document announced the agreement to negotiate a youth mobility scheme and for the UK to work towards associating to Erasmus+. It states:
12. The United Kingdom and the European Commission share the view that it is in the mutual interest to deepen our people-to-people ties, particularly for the younger generation.
13. Therefore, the European Commission and the United Kingdom should work towards a balanced youth experience scheme on terms to be mutually agreed. The scheme should facilitate the participation of young people from the European Union and the United Kingdom in various activities, such as work, studies, au-pairing, volunteering, or simply travelling, for a limited period of time. It should provide a dedicated visa path and ensure that the overall number of participants is acceptable to both sides.
14. Furthermore, the United Kingdom and the European Commission should work towards the association of the United Kingdom to the European Union Erasmus+ programme. The specific terms of this association, including mutually agreed financial terms, should be determined as part of that process in order to ensure a fair balance as regards the contributions of and benefits to the United Kingdom. The association should be in accordance with the European Union Multiannual Financial Framework and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
The UK Government additionally indicated, in an explainer published after the summit, that it wants the scheme to be similar to its other youth mobility visa schemes and that it will only reassociate with Erasmus+ on better financial terms. The UK Government’s explainer states:
The exact parameters will be subject to negotiation, but the UK has been clear that any scheme should be in line with the UK’s existing schemes including participants having no access to benefits and no right to bring dependents.
[…]
Erasmus+ association would offer a broad range of opportunities for UK learners and staff across our education, training, youth and sport sectors, from school exchanges, work placements, language courses, and semesters abroad, to international youth work projects and training for grassroots sport staff.
We are taking forward the next stage of negotiations on the clear mutual understanding that the UK will only associate to Erasmus+ on significantly improved financial terms.
Updates since the UK-EU Summit
The Council of the EU adopted Decision (EU) 2025/1286 on 20 June 2025. This decision authorises the European Commission to begin negotiations with the UK Government on a UK-EU youth experience agreement. Denmark is the only EU country that is not participating in the adoption of the decision and, if an agreement is reached, will not take part in the envisaged youth mobility visa scheme. While the Common Understanding on the proposed youth experience scheme indicates that participation will be based on numbers acceptable to both sides, it remains unclear how the scheme will align with the UK Government’s objectives to reduce net migration and with the policy proposals concerning students outlined in its May 2025 white paper on restoring control over the immigration system.
In August 2025, the UK Government published an explanatory memorandum on Decision (EU) 2025/1286. It confirmed that the Minister for the Constitution and European Union Relations (Nick Thomas-Symonds MP) will lead negotiations to establish an EU–UK youth mobility scheme. If agreed, the Home Secretary will be responsible for implementing the scheme in the UK. The memorandum also states that any such scheme will be established as a “supplementing agreement” to the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), which governs the broader EU–UK relationship.
Also during August 2025, the UK Government advertised a preliminary market engagement notice to:
inform the market that the Department for Education, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and the Devolved Governments of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are considering our strategy for possible delivery of the Erasmus+ Programme.
The notice is not a formal invitation to tender and does not indicate that there will be a contractor to run the Erasmus+ scheme in the UK. However, it does state that the contract is expected to be worth £24 million and run from 1 July 2026 to 31 December 2027. These timescales correspond to the current Erasmus+ mandate, which is supported by a budget of €26.2 billion. Regarding the next mandate, the European Commission announced in July 2025 that Erasmus+ will run from 2028 to 2034 with a budget of €40.8 billion. Given that the UK Government has indicated it will only associate with Erasmus+ on “significantly improved financial terms,” the level of the UK’s contribution to the programme’s budget is likely to be one of the more challenging areas in the negotiations.
The UK Government confirmed to the House of Lords European Affairs Committee in October 2025 that the UK’s negotiating mandate was agreed by the Cabinet Europe Committee on 2 September. In a subsequent evidence session with the UK Parliament House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Minister for the Constitution and European Union, Nick Thomas-Symonds MP provided background on the UK’s negotiating position. Nick Thomas-Symonds MP stated on 8 September 2025:
On the youth experience scheme, I think that it will actually bring very significant benefits to young British people who want to go abroad, and it is a valuable form of cultural exchange. […].
I have said that it will be a capped scheme, and it will be in line with the existing schemes. We have 13 youth mobility schemes already, so there will need to be visas, and there will not be any ability to claim benefits and so on. That sort of smart, controlled and capped youth experience scheme will be of economic benefit when young Europeans come here and contribute to our economy. […].
On Erasmus+, firstly, we will be learning from the existing schemes that we have in the UK, including not just the Turing scheme but the Taith scheme in Wales, and I am particularly interested in how well that has been working. […] It will be done strictly on the basis of value for money.
The UK Government confirmed to the UK Parliament House of Commons on 4 December 2025 that several rounds of negotiations on the youth experience scheme have taken place and that it would update the House of Commons “shortly”.
Scottish Government priorities for UK-EU negotiations
The Scottish Government published a position paper on its priorities for the UK-EU negotiations on 10 November 2025. The Scottish Government position remains like that issued in its April 2025 position paper. Namely that the scheme should create opportunity for young people, retain “the flexibilities” of existing youth mobility visa routes, and that any cap to the scheme is reflective of the level of demand to participate in the scheme. The Scottish Government additionally recommended in the November 2025 position paper that there should be a review period to assess the impact of and demand for the youth experience scheme.
On the negotiations to reassociate to Erasmus+, the Scottish Government highlighted the popularity of Scotland for incoming EU students and the historical high engagement of outgoing Scottish students with the programme. It also sets out the Scottish Government’s expectations for the delivery of the Erasmus+ programme through a UK-wide central agency. The paper states:
The agency which operates Erasmus+ in the UK should have a strong presence in Scotland, fully recognising the role of the Scottish Government in delivery of education in Scotland. Any contract awarded by the UK Government to a national agency must include explicit provisions that: demonstrate how it will give equal weighting to the education and skills priorities of the devolved governments alongside those of the UK Government; and acknowledge that the devolved governments are not merely stakeholders, and will play a formal and active role in quality assuring the agency’s work.
While the negotiation of international agreements is reserved, the outcomes of negotiations will affect devolved policy areas such as education. As yet, it is not clear whether there will be a role for the devolved governments in contributing to the UK’s negotiating objectives for the youth experience scheme or whether its priorities for Erasmus+ will be reflected in the UK-wide administration of the scheme. The Explanatory Memorandum on Decision (EU) 2025/1286 (published by the UK Government) suggests it may be limited to consultation, and states:
Mobility schemes are reserved matters as they concern immigration policies, but the Devolved Governments will be kept informed about progress towards agreeing a scheme. This EM was shared with the Devolved Governments.
The Devolved Governments are consulted regularly on the UK’s approach to matters arising from the implementation and application of the TCA [EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement].
17 December 2025 announcement that the United Kingdom will associate to Erasmus+ in 2027
On 17 December 2025, the UK Government and the European Commission announced that the United Kingdom will associate to Erasmus+ for the 2027-28 academic year. The joint statement also indicated that both parties expect to conclude negotiations on the proposed youth experience scheme before the next EU–UK Summit, which is anticipated in Spring-Summer 2026.
The UK Government’s accompanying statement outlined key financial terms agreed with the EU for Erasmus+ participation. It confirmed that the UK will contribute approximately £570 million for the 2027–28 academic year, representing “a 30% discount compared to the default terms under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.”
Participation in the subsequent Erasmus+ mandate (2028–2034) has not yet been agreed. The UK Government stated that any participation beyond 2027 will be “based on a fair and balanced contribution.”
Next Steps
Part 5 of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) provides the framework for UK participation in EU programmes. Specific programmes and conditions of participation are set out in Protocol I: the Protocol on Programmes and Activities in which the UK participates. Since Erasmus+ is not currently listed in Protocol I, approval by the TCA Specialised Committee on Participation in Union Programmes will be required to provide for the UK’s participation in Erasmus+.
The joint statement confirms that both parties will “proceed swiftly […] in accordance with their respective procedures and legal frameworks and in respect of each other’s decision-making autonomy.”
Additionally, the UK Government has indicated that a UK National Agency will be appointed to administer Erasmus+ “well ahead of the 2027 funding call.” Annual Erasmus+ calls typically open in November of the preceding year, meaning the 2027 call is expected to launch in November 2026.
Courtney Aitken
SPICe Research