FAQ: The UK-EU Youth Experience Scheme

Following the release of the UK Trade and Business Commission’s (UKTBC) pioneering report into a Youth Experience Scheme, outlining 17 recommendations for the government’s negotiations with the EU, there’s a lot of detail to get across.

Ever wondered how the proposed scheme would work? Well, we’ve broken down all you need to know about a UK-EU Youth Experience Scheme.

What is a youth experience scheme?

Youth experience schemes (also known as youth mobility schemes) enable young people in participating nations to live, study and work abroad, learning new skills, experiencing new cultures and living life beyond their own borders, for a set period of time. 

Countries will typically establish schemes on a bilateral basis, which enable their young nationals to travel abroad to pre-agreed partner countries for a limited time. 

Does the UK have youth experience schemes with anyone else?

The UK has successful youth experience schemes with 13 non-EU countries, including New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Japan, Iceland, and Uruguay. The UK does not currently have a scheme in place with the EU.

In 2023, the cross party, cross industry UK Trade and Business Commission recommended the creation of a new UK-EU reciprocal youth experience scheme.

What have the UK and EU agreed to?

At the inaugural UK-EU Summit on May 19 2025 the UK and the EU agreed to the establishment of a UK-EU Youth Experience Scheme (YES). 

The European Commission and the United Kingdom agreed that 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. 

The UK Government has since confirmed their intention to introduce a cap on the number of visas available and to model a UK-EU YES on existing schemes with Australia and New Zealand.

Will this affect net migration?

The UKTBC’s report introduces the concept of the ‘headroom’ created by the UK’s existing youth experience visa schemes. In 2024, the UK granted 24,400 YMS visas. Over the same period, 68,495 UK citizens are estimated to have emigrated to Australia, New Zealand and Canada alone under the youth mobility agreements with those nations.

Without accounting for the number of UK citizens moving abroad as part of the UK’s remaining 10 youth mobility agreements, the UK’s youth mobility scheme programmes had an effect of reducing net migration to the UK by at least 44,000 in 2024.

That means that existing youth experience schemes have delivered a ‘headroom’ of at least 44,000 places. Therefore, the UKTBC has recommended a Youth Experience Scheme is capped at 44,000 in the first year so there is no overall effect on net migration. After the first year of the scheme, the UK Government should review take up of the scheme, and adjust the cap accordingly.

How long would a scheme last?

The UKTBC’s report recommends that a UK-EU scheme have a baseline duration of two years with the option of extending for an additional year, in line with the average of current youth mobility schemes. This is to maintain a broad cross-party base of support for the policy. Polling commissioned by Best for Britain shows that the policy commands support from two-thirds (66%)  of Brits when lasting for two years. 

What would people on the scheme be allowed to do?

The Common Understanding agreed at the UK-EU Summit states that “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”.

How much would it cost?

The UK Government has made clear that a UK-EU Youth Experience Scheme should be open to “people of all backgrounds”. As such, the UKTBC report recommends that the UK Government and EU Commission should aim to reduce application fees for the UK-EU Youth Experience Scheme to as close to nominal as possible. 

This means that the Youth Experience Scheme would be affordable and accessible to as many young people as possible – and not the reserve of the wealthy or fortunate.

What would this mean for universities?

One major point of contention between the UK and EU negotiators  has been the desire of the EU Commission to negotiate the awarding of ‘domestic fees’ to EU students wishing to study in the UK. 

The UKTBC report recommends that the UK Government reject this demand due to the extensive financial stress already felt by British universities. The report also recommends that the proposed Youth Experience Scheme should not be purpose-specific nor bound to existing UK and EU member states student visa paths.

What do the public think about a youth experience scheme?

Support for a UK-EU Youth Experience Scheme remains consistently high across all political parties. A total of 72% of Brits support the scheme, more than five times the number in opposition.

What are the benefits of a youth experience scheme?

• Cultural benefits: Youth experience schemes increase cultural exchange through the sharing and trading of customs, traditions, and languages, as well as ideas, entrepreneurship and innovation.
• Social benefits: Youth experience schemes increase skills and knowledge sharing through internships, apprenticeships, trainee schemes and seasonal work placements. As well as through the opportunity for young people to study and travel together. All are experiences that enrich the lives of young people and their wider communities and which boost UK soft-power by strengthening international ties.
• Economic benefits: Youth experience schemes offer young Brits invaluable opportunities to gain experience abroad, bringing that knowledge back to the UK with them. These schemes can also help ease labour shortages for public services and British businesses ,especially in the hospitality, tourism, leisure and agriculture sectors, which in turn help to ease inflationary pressures and boost the economy.
• Lasting connections: Allowing our young people to live abroad and more young people from overseas to spend their formative years here, helps build lasting connections, increasing future opportunities for international collaboration and foreign direct investment.

Is a youth experience scheme the same as freedom of movement?

No, youth experience schemes typically require applicants to get a visa, provide evidence of sufficient funds to support themselves and pay a health service surcharge. Crucially, youth experience schemes only allow individuals to come for a limited period and do not allow them to settle on a long-term basis.