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The United Kingdom is poised to rejoin the Erasmus scheme, according to sources at the BBC, marking a reversal five years after the nation ended its participation as part of its departure from the European Union.
The Erasmus program facilitates funding from the EU, enabling individuals to pursue studies, training, or volunteer work in other European countries for periods of up to one year.
In 2021, the UK established its own Turing scheme as a replacement, providing funding for similar placements on a global scale.
The government has stated it will not comment while discussions are ongoing. An official announcement from ministers is anticipated on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had previously indicated in May that a youth mobility scheme could be incorporated into a revised agreement with the EU.
Sources at the BBC understand that UK students will be able to participate in the Erasmus scheme from January 2027.
Alex Stanley, representing the National Union of Students (NUS), lauded the development as “fantastic that another generation of students will be able to be part of the Erasmus programme,” characterizing it as a “huge win for the student movement.”
“Students have been campaigning to rejoin Erasmus from the day we left,” Stanley stated.
The Erasmus scheme, named after the Dutch Renaissance theologian, was discontinued in the UK in December 2020, coinciding with the government’s announcement of its post-Brexit trade accord with the EU.
Boris Johnson, the prime minister at the time, acknowledged it as a “tough decision” but asserted that the scheme had become “extremely expensive.”
He affirmed that it would be succeeded by the Turing scheme – named in honor of British mathematician and codebreaker Alan Turing – which has been in operation since then.
Both schemes are accessible not only to university students but also to individuals enrolled in vocational courses, as well as apprentices and those undergoing training at college or school.
In 2020, the last year of UK participation in Erasmus, the scheme received €144m (£126m) in EU funding, facilitating the involvement of 55,700 individuals in Erasmus projects overall.
During that year, the UK sent 9,900 students and trainees to other countries under the scheme, while receiving 16,100 participants in return.
Glasgow, Bristol, and Edinburgh emerged as the top three universities for sending students abroad, with Spain, France, and Germany ranking as the most sought-after destinations for UK students.
In the 2024/25 academic year, the Turing scheme had £105m in funding, supporting 43,200 placements, comprising 24,000 in higher education, 12,100 in further education, and 7,000 in schools.
The majority (38,000) of students originated from England, with 2,900 from Scotland, 1,000 from Wales, and 1,200 from Northern Ireland.
Ministers who introduced the Turing scheme in 2021 stated that it was designed to benefit more people from disadvantaged backgrounds and provide greater support for travel costs than the Erasmus scheme did.
The future of the Turing scheme remains uncertain following the reintroduction of Erasmus for UK students.
Liberal Democrat universities spokesman Ian Sollom welcomed the news of Erasmus’s return, hailing it as a “moment of real opportunity and a clear step towards repairing the disastrous Conservative Brexit deal.”
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