What is a youth mobility scheme?
What is a youth mobility scheme? Do we already have them? And how do they benefit Britain? We answer all these questions and more.
What is a youth mobility scheme?
Youth mobility visas 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 amount of time and receive equivalent benefits to those that those partner countries’ nationals would receive in their countries.
Does the UK currently have any youth mobility schemes in place?
The UK has successful youth mobility 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.
When the UK withdrew from the EU in 2016, mobility between the two dramatically decreased. While the consequences were hugely negative for all Brits, it was particularly the case for young people looking for cultural, work and educational opportunities on the other side of the Channel. It has also impacted British businesses which have suffered from labour shortages particularly in the hospitality sector.
In 2023, the cross party, cross industry UK Trade and Business Commission recommended the creation of a new UK-EU reciprocal youth mobility scheme which would allow young people between the ages of 18 - 35 to travel and work in the EU for up to five years with no route to residency at the end.
What are the benefits of youth mobility schemes?
Cultural benefits: Youth mobility schemes increase cultural exchange through the sharing and trading of customs, traditions, and languages, as well as ideas, entrepreneurship and innovation.
Social benefits: Youth mobility 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 mobility schemes offer young Brits invaluable opportunities to gain experience abroad, bringing that knowledge back to the UK with them. YMS 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. 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 there public support for a UK-EU youth mobility scheme?
Best for Britain’s recent polling, carried out in March 2024, shows that almost two thirds of Brits (59%) think the Government should negotiate a youth mobility scheme with the EU. This includes 56% of those aged 55 and over.
Only 15% of Brits think we should not, including 15% of those aged 55 and over.
How will a UK-EU youth mobility scheme impact net migration?
Visas awarded via a youth mobility scheme only count towards temporary migration statistics, not overall net migration statistics. Introducing a UK-EU youth mobility scheme would therefore not impact the Government’s pledge to bring down net-migration.
Youth mobility schemes are designed to allow a sustainable and reciprocal flow of young people between the two countries involved.
Is youth mobility the same as freedom of movement?
No. Youth mobility schemes typically require applicants to get a visa, provide evidence of sufficient funds to support themselves and pay a health service surcharge. Crucially, youth mobility schemes only allow individuals to come for a limited period and do not allow them to settle on a long-term basis.
This article first appeared on Best for Britain