EU and UK negotiators met in Brussels on 5 December to thrash out the final shape of a dedicated Youth Experience Scheme (YES) that would allow 18- to 32-year-olds to live and work in each other’s territory for up to three years. According to draft EU papers seen by the Financial Times, the European Commission wants the scheme left ‘uncapped’, arguing that numerical quotas run counter to the principle of reciprocity and would be unworkable across 27 member states.
London’s position, set out by officials close to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, is that any programme must be “robustly managed” and subject to an annual cap similar to the 30,000 places offered under the existing Australia–UK Youth Mobility route. Treasury ministers, however, are privately enthusiastic, seeing the initiative as a low-cost way to plug skills gaps in hospitality, tech and the creative industries without creating permanent migration.
![Brussels pushes London for uncapped Youth Mobility Scheme in post-Brexit talks]()
The EU is also demanding that exchange participants retain access to domestic tuition-fee rates and be exempt from the NHS surcharge—two red-line issues for the UK, which relies on higher international fees to subsidise universities and on the surcharge to fund the health service. British negotiators favour a middle-ground compromise of time-limited fee parity and a tapered surcharge.
Business groups such as the CBI and techUK are lobbying for a swift deal, warning that UK firms are losing out on young talent able to pick Berlin or Dublin instead. If agreement can be reached by early 2026, both sides aim to open applications in 2027, coinciding with a possible UK return to the Erasmus+ exchange programme.
Global mobility teams should monitor the final rules closely. If quotas are imposed, employers may need ballot systems similar to those used for Japan and India youth routes; if not, the scheme could become a valuable pipeline for junior hires from across Europe.
London’s position, set out by officials close to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, is that any programme must be “robustly managed” and subject to an annual cap similar to the 30,000 places offered under the existing Australia–UK Youth Mobility route. Treasury ministers, however, are privately enthusiastic, seeing the initiative as a low-cost way to plug skills gaps in hospitality, tech and the creative industries without creating permanent migration.
The EU is also demanding that exchange participants retain access to domestic tuition-fee rates and be exempt from the NHS surcharge—two red-line issues for the UK, which relies on higher international fees to subsidise universities and on the surcharge to fund the health service. British negotiators favour a middle-ground compromise of time-limited fee parity and a tapered surcharge.
Business groups such as the CBI and techUK are lobbying for a swift deal, warning that UK firms are losing out on young talent able to pick Berlin or Dublin instead. If agreement can be reached by early 2026, both sides aim to open applications in 2027, coinciding with a possible UK return to the Erasmus+ exchange programme.
Global mobility teams should monitor the final rules closely. If quotas are imposed, employers may need ballot systems similar to those used for Japan and India youth routes; if not, the scheme could become a valuable pipeline for junior hires from across Europe.
