European Commission proposes UK/EU youth mobility scheme

The European Commission has outlined plans to strike a deal to allow 18–30-year-olds to come to the UK for a limited time without needing a visa sponsorship. The time frame could be up to four years, potentially simplifying immigration for EU students, interns and workers as well as extending opportunities for UK nationals looking to study or work across the EU. We’ll speak to an immigration specialist about the plan.

In its press release The Commission explains the rationale for plan, saying how it recognises that since Brexit there has been decreased mobility between the EU and the UK and how that has affected opportunities for young people to benefit from youth, cultural, educational, research and training exchanges. The plan seeks to address that problem. The Commission's recommendation will now be discussed in the Council and, if the Council agrees, the Commission would be empowered to launch negotiations with the UK. 

Commenting on the development in an article for Out-Law, immigration expert Shara Pledger says: ‘This could be massive for sectors such as retail and hospitality that cannot satisfy requirements to sponsor workers under the main employment routes, and generally see a high staff turnover.’ She goes on: ‘A youth mobility scheme would allow for recruitment of migrant workers from the EU in roles in shops, restaurants and hotels, potentially filling the big gaps left post-Brexit.’  

However, as the FT reports, the Labour Party, which could form the next government, has rebuffed the scheme which, they say, crosses Brexit red lines. A spokesperson told the FT that ‘Labour has no plans for a youth mobility scheme’ and would look to improve UK-EU relations in other ways. Meanwhile UK business leaders, keen on the scheme, are pressing the government to agree to talks. Charles Owen, managing director of Seasonal Business in Travel, a lobby group for the outbound travel sector, is quoted saying: ‘A reciprocal youth mobility scheme is a win-win for both Europe and the UK, and in particular for struggling businesses suffering from chronic labour shortages, made worse by Brexit.’

So, let’s hear more about this proposal. Earlier I caught up with immigration expert Alex Wright who joined me by video-link from Manchester:

Alex Wright: “Yes, it's an interesting one. I don't think anyone really saw this one coming. So the reason the EU made this pitch to the UK in the first place is because the UK had been in negotiations with various EU states individually about making their own accession to what we call the mobility scheme. So the UK runs a scheme called Youth Mobility where we have individual agreements with a number of countries, predominantly Commonwealth countries, or countries where the UK has really strong trade links, to allow people, generally 18 to 35, up to normally two years to come to the UK. Labour has rebuffed what has been proposed by EU and said if they come to government they won't do it and the reason they've said they won't do that is because it feels too close to free movement. Now, the EU have been very clear that this isn't free movement, what they're asking for is an applied visa, where you have to make an application, there are criteria. It would be reciprocal, so it would work for people going from the EU to the UK and vice versa but what they want is a scheme which is pretty low fee, very light on eligibility requirements and also what they're looking for was a four-year visa and I can understand that that is quite a step from where we are in terms of our position with EU at the moment. It’s quite unlike any arrangement we have at present and it is quite possible it was just simply too big a leap to be deemed publicly acceptable at the moment.”

Joe Glavina: “This would be a welcome development for employers if it were to happen, Alex. Which sectors of industry, which clients, do you think would benefit most from it?”

Alex Wright: “I think this would be incredibly welcomed by a lot of different industries. Certainly, there are lots of industries post-Brexit which have suffered from the lack of free movement particularly hospitality, agriculture, the care sector, all of which were generally young people working for a shorter period of time are normally very welcome and are normally quite suitable professions. I think the other sector in the UK that would be very keen on this would be the higher education sector. One of the conversations as part of the EU proposal was trying to make it easier for EU nationals to study in the UK, and likewise UK nationals to study in the EU and it would open up other things like internship scheme which at the minute can be very tricky and rely on complex visa routes. So, I think there are a number of applications of this route that would be very welcome. So even if it's not going to come in in the current form, I think the fact that the EU is felt comfortable to approach the UK and say this is the type of thing they are thinking of in terms of a block negotiation is certainly very interesting and it'll be intriguing to see what this leads to in the future even if it doesn't come in in its current form.”

Joe Glavina: “Presumably, if it happens, this would come in the form of a visa and there'll be a cost attached to it. What is that likely to be?” 

Alex Wright: So, the EU said that they thought that the cost of visa applications to the UK was too high and comparatively, to a lot of the world, they are. They also mentioned the cost of the immigration health surcharge which has also gone up significantly at the beginning of this year and they mentioned that they would want there to be different things such as lower visa fees, and maybe a requirement for the individual to demonstrate they have access to comprehensive sickness insurance. So the honest answer is we don't know what the cost but that certainly does seem to be a sticking point. What the EU don’t want to do is create a scheme where people applying to the UK would be paying extortionate amounts, and then people going from the UK to the EU would essentially be getting off significantly cheaper, but I think that's definitely a point of negotiation. There are fees payable for youth mobility schemes. As they exist at the moment they’re not the highest ones in the world, but there are things like the annual immigration health surcharge which you simply can't get round but I would have thought that that's probably for later in the process if that is going to happen because at the minute they don't know if they want it to happen or not.”

Joe Glavina: “Final question, which is on the timing and I realise this is crystal ball gazing, but if it did happen when do you think that would be and when would clients like to see it, ideally?”

Alex Wright: “I think a lot of this is going to be contingent on the outcome of the next General Election. I think it's very unlikely that the current government would agree to any version of this. If there were to be a renegotiated version I think, ideally, what employers would probably want to see is a start to this scheme matching the end of summer term. So when young people are thinking about their futures, thinking about where they might want to be based, thinking about the next stage in their life. In an ideal world if this got negotiated, and it was in place, I would say summer 2025 would be a really good time for it but, again, this is going to depend on the position of the EU, whatever position the next government in the UK takes, and whether or not they can come to a compromise.”

If you would like to read about this proposal in more detail you can. The Commission has published details on its website including a link to an extensive Q&A section which is useful. We’ve included a link to that in the transcript of this programme for you. 

LINKS
- Link to European Commission’s press release: ‘Commission proposes to open negotiations to facilitate youth mobility between the EU and the UK’