The UK government has rejected a deal with the EU that could have seen wider mobility for young people, 18- to 30-year-olds, to work and study in the EU.

The UK already has youth mobility scheme visas for young people in 10 countries including: Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Korea. However, these deals do have constraints on areas such as studying, working, volunteering and training, as well as only lasting up to 2 years.

The deal has emerged after the UK had approached several unnamed EU countries last year to discuss deals on an individual basis. This concerned the European Commission as they said that this could lead to ‘differential treatment’ of EU citizens, and that any deal made should be (EU) bloc-wide to ensure all citizens are ‘treated equally’.

The EU free movement offer would not replicate the exact scheme seen during the UK’s time in the European Union, but it would see a significant reduction in the immigration controls on young people moving between the UK and EU countries. The EU offer would have seen the visa length doubled to 4 years, with no restrictions on the previously mentioned areas.

Since Brexit, the UK has also left schemes such as the EU’s Erasmus student exchange scheme, replacing it with the Turing Scheme.

The proposed deal would also have created opportunities for EU students applying. The European Commission stated in the offer that EU applicants shouldn’t have to pay the annual UK NHS charge, which ranges from £776 to £1,035 depending on age and student status. The offer would have also seen EU students paying the same price for university fees as UK home students, rather than the higher fees they have been paying since Brexit.

The levels of immigration from the EU to the UK have declined since freedom of movement rules ended in 2021, requiring EU citizens to get a visa to live in the UK, study or get a job.

However, No. 10 has rejected this deal on the grounds that ‘We are not introducing an EU-wide youth mobility scheme, free movement within the Eu was ended and there are no plans to reintroduce it.’ the government’s move, saying it limits young people’s opportunities for the future.”

The UK government has reiterated that it prefers country-by-country deals that would apply across all twenty-seven member states. This point of view has also been supported by the Labour party, stating that if they were elected at the next general election, there would be ‘no return to the single market, customs union or free movement’.

Some have criticised the government’s move, saying it limits young people’s opportunities for the future.

Ray Kirtley, Chair of the UK Global Learning Association for Schools said ‘What a pity that the timidity of both Labour and the Conservatives regarding anything European prevents them from committing to the proposal from the European Commission for free movement for 18-to-30-year-olds. For many young people, the motivation and confidence to work in the EU came from activity funded by Erasmus+ in schools, youth clubs or universities.

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