Monday 19 May 2025

The UK Government published its immigration white paper on Monday 12 May 2025. The document includes drastic proposals which amongst other ramifications will have a significant impact on individuals’ routes to indefinite leave to remain in the UK, the care sector (as the relevant route will close to new applicants from abroad) and costs associated with Skilled Worker sponsorship due to the proposed increase to the Immigration Skills Charge by a significant 32%. One topic which was not addressed in the white paper, but has been the subject of increased speculation is the potential introduction of a Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) for EU nationals. We recently published an article considering the prospective benefits of a UK-EU YMS and the likelihood of this happening which can be accessed here.

There have been discussions surrounding this topic since 2024 and the European Commission made a proposal to the European Council to open negotiations on this with the UK on this prior to the general election last year. The Commission argued that Brexit has resulted in reduced mobility of people which was not addressed by the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation agreement, envisaging a YMS agreement benefiting both EU and British citizens alike.

Within the context of the white paper, it has been reported by The Independent that ‘Kier Starmer is set to agree a youth mobility scheme in alignment with the European Union despite his controversial clampdown on migration’. and have indicated that the deal will be unveiled on Monday. It appears therefore, that the proposals in the white paper may have potentially been in part motivated by an intention to politically facilitate the introduction of a YMS as part of a wider reset of British relations with the EU.

Significantly, it appears that the proposed YMS is set to be discussed today at the EU-UK Summit to be hosted in London on Monday 19 May 2025 which is the first summit on British soil since Brexit. The European Parliament has published a briefing stating that ‘Leaders will review the possibility of the YMS scheme to facilitate freedom of movement for young people aged 18-30’.

As it stands, the UK’s existing YMS allows young people from participating countries to live, work and study (subject to conditions) in the UK, typically for up to two years. This is immigration permission that has to be applied for and granted rather than a pre-existing right. Interestingly, the European Commission in their proposal suggested that a reciprocal YMS would enable individuals to stay up to four years in the destination country, which is longer than is currently permitted for participating countries in the current scheme. We could therefore expect discussion between the EU and the UK as to the length of permission  permissible under this route, should it be introduced.

For specific countries (Taiwan, Hong Kong and India) the YMS operates on an invitation to apply arrangement whereby applicants must be issued with an invitation to apply and have made their application within the period of time specified on the invitation. The purpose of this is to ‘effectively and efficiently manage the release of the annual quotas’. Indeed, applications under this route must be refused if the number of places allotted has been filled even if they satisfy the other requirements. Whilst this invitation arrangement does not currently apply to all countries included within the scope of the YMS,  this could be one of the ways in which the YMS is extended to EU nationals whilst also aligning with the Government’s continued focus on cutting legal migration.

The YMS is somewhat restrictive and time limited in nature with permission being granted for a specified period. Only Australian, Canadian or New Zealand nationals can extend their visa up to one year and they are only permitted to do this once.  Individuals must either leave the UK before the expiry date of their permission or apply for permission to stay before the expiry of their permission to switch into another UK immigration category. Time spent in the route does not lead to a permanent UK immigration status and does not permit individuals to be accompanied by their dependant family members, both marked points of differentiation from free movement.

Should the UK’s existing YMS indeed to be extended to provide young people from the EU with the opportunity to experience life in the UK for a specified period (with reciprocal arrangements also being in place) it is therefore critical to note that this would not constitute the return of free movement of people, an analogy that would undoubtedly be levied by detractors of the scheme.

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To keep up with developments in UK immigration sign up to our mailing list. If you are an EU national looking to work or study in the UK and require UK immigration advice  please contact your designated LDI lawyer or our enquiries team at enquiries@lauradevine.com.