UK-EU Youth Mobility Reset: Stumped by Tuition Fees?

ILPA Blog | European

BY ELSPETH GUILD

As the UK Government explores ways it might potentially strengthen bilateral cooperation with the EU, Professor Elspeth Guild, Global Professor of Social Justice at the University of Liverpool, considers how the proposed UK-EU youth mobility scheme could also improve the outlook for the UK university sector.


On 22 December 2025, the UK and EU agreed a Common Understanding on greater bilateral cooperation. Section 3, entitled ‘Putting people at the centre of the European – United Kingdom relationship’, touches the thorny issue of migration, which proved so toxic during the Brexit referendum.

In the Understanding, the parties agreed to move forward on two items:

  • the return of the UK to the EU’s Erasmus+ programme, and
  • a youth experience or mobility scheme, on terms to be agreed.

There was nothing surprising or contentious about the first of these points, given that the UK had already announced, on 17 December 2025, that it would be rejoining the Erasmus+ scheme, a youth exchange programme with a strong higher education element. In terms of the second of these points (a youth experience/mobility scheme), the Understanding states that the scheme should facilitate young people (agreed as between 18 and 30 years old) from the EU and UK to move across borders for a limited period of time (the proposal being for four years). The scheme would provide a dedicated visa path, with a potential cap on numbers, and young people would be permitted to carry out certain activities, including:

  • work
  • studies
  • au-pairing
  • volunteering
  • travel.

ILPA has been the supporter of a UK-EU youth mobility scheme since it was first mooted in 2024. The UK already has youth mobility schemes with a variety of countries so it would not be a dramatic departure from immigration policy in general. The terms of each youth mobility scheme are different (see, for example, the India Young Professionals Scheme) depending on the outcomes of negotiations between the parties, so a bespoke scheme could certainly be agreed with the EU. Furthermore, there is nothing sacrosanct in UK immigration law about the content of these schemes; existing schemes vary in terms of the length of time that beneficiaries can spend in the parties and the activities they can undertake. The only general principle is that they are reciprocal.

On 15 January 2025 Liberal Democrat MP James MacCleary laid before Parliament a Private Members’ Bill on the subject, with the 2nd reading slated for 29 May 2026. In the meantime, information on the negotiations has been something of a drip feed. Among the issues cited as causing friction are:

  • the scope of youth mobility (for British young people, would access be to Member State by
    Member State or to the EU as a whole?)
  • possible caps on numbers
  • the basis of access for EU young people to British universities.

In this blog I address only the last of these issues: access to British universities, an issue which has accidently arrived in a troubled British landscape regarding the financing of universities and the place of tuition fees.

The sticking point in the negotiations is whether EU students studying at British universities under the scheme should pay high overseas student fees or the much lower home student fees, placing them on an equal basis with British students. The EU wants its young citizens to be able to use the youth mobility scheme to undertake university studies (avoiding the more onerous immigration rules on students) at the same cost as home students. The UK, however, wants EU youth mobility students to be treated as foreigners not settled in the UK and therefore required to pay the much higher overseas student fees, which ‘extra’ money British universities use to subsidise their activities. The parties are due to meet in June 2026 when progress will be assessed.

In England tuition fees were increased from £1,000 to a maximum of £3,000 in 2006. In 2012 fees were set at a basic threshold of £6,000 with a cap of £9,000 (many universities immediately chose the higher fee). In 2017 the cap was raised to £9,250 and in 2025-26 to £9,535 following pressure from universities. Scottish universities do not charge home student fees for undergraduate courses for Scottish students (but for non-Scottish British students the fee is £9,790). Universities across the UK are not limited by any cap on overseas students’ fees. These students normally have to pay between £10,000 and £26,000 a year for undergraduate courses.

Because the cap for home student tuition fees has not risen in line with inflation, UK universities have had to find ways to adapt in order to plug shortfalls. Many did this by admitting increasing numbers of overseas students whose high fees filled gaps. Between 2017 and 2022, the numbers of overseas students doubled and by 2022-23, some universities in England had 30% or more students from overseas.

By 2024, the rising numbers of overseas students at British universities had become a political issue. Various commentators suggested that the numbers were too high and detrimental to British universities for a wide variety of reasons. A September 2023 report from the House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee found that ‘many higher education providers have developed an unhealthy and unsustainable reliance on fees from international students’.

In response, in May 2024 the Education Committee launched an inquiry into international students in English universities, in which it examined ‘the changes in numbers of international students in recent years, the impact of international students on university funding and availability of places for domestic students, and whether universities are achieving an appropriate balance between international and domestic students.’ The Committee is no longer accepting evidence but has yet to report on the inquiry.

By this point, Immigration Rule changes, introduced in January 2024, had abolished entry to many family members of overseas students as part of a drive to reduce numbers. The post-study work visa or Graduate Route immigration category was also diminished in terms of the length of time those applying can stay (for post 2026 applicants). As a result, the numbers of overseas students have dropped. By 2024-25 there was already a 6% decline in overseas students. Between 2021 and 2024 EU students admission dropped by 57%.

At the same time, the financing of university education has suffered another shock: declining overall numbers of admission at many universities. According to UCAS, in 2025 intake at some universities was down by between 20 and 30% (both home and overseas students). There has also been a lot of juggling among universities, with the more prestigious sweeping up more and better qualified students, leaving the less well known to pay the price with falling admissions. Some have had falling admission levels for more than just the last year.

In response, universities have been changing their entry requirements: some now admit students without A levels at all; others are lowering their offers and/or accepting students who have failed to meet their offers in order to fill places. The number of students starting without any A levels has doubled from 2024 to 2025 and now stands at almost one in ten. But recent statistics show that over 25% of students who enter university without an A level do not go on to finish their studies. Like many British students, they will have taken out student loans which must be repaid and that debt can have serious consequences for their futures.

Into this complicated situation, the EU demand for home student fees for EU youth mobility beneficiaries is therefore politically sensitive for the UK Government. The temptation to seek to appease parts of the university sector is substantial. However, the question is whether this is in the best interests of the UK as a whole and specifically the education sector. In Scotland, where there is a different tuition fee regime, calls are already being made for lower fees for EU students as a way to make Scottish higher education sustainable. But the financing of university education is not the only criterion on which this decision must be taken.

An increase in the numbers of well-qualified EU students to British universities could improve the university experience of all students and widen the horizons of many home students. The detriment which Brexit has caused to UK higher education and research has been well documented elsewhere. Reversing this damage must be a priority both for the Government and for the sector. The inclusion of an equality guarantee for studies at home student rates for EU and British youth mobility beneficiaries is one immediate way to further this process.

Elspeth Guild is Global Professor of Social Justice at the University of Liverpool. She is an expert in the field of European Union free movement of persons, immigration and borders law and practice. Elspeth was previously a co-convenor of ILPA’s European Working Group and has been a Patron of ILPA since 2022.

ILPA invites members and other leading experts to contribute articles to its monthly blog. The views expressed in all blog posts are the authors’ own and are not necessarily those of ILPA.

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Document Date
Tuesday April 28, 2026