EU talks to include Youth Mobility Scheme

According to various reports today, the UK government is set to include the Youth Mobility Scheme proposal in negotiations with the EU in May. This move already has majority parliamentary and reportedly public approval in the UK and EU.

The EU have already proposed a reciprocal youth mobility agreement. This would allow young British people the right to live, work and study in the EU and vice versa for 2 or 3 years with no visa hassle. (The UK already issues more than 45,000 seasonal work visas anyway). Despite all the ‘reset relations’ talk the UK government has been surprisingly cold on the idea. They have said repeatedly that there will be no restoration of our rights to freedom of movement, even though the scheme is nothing like the same thing.

There will be wrangling over NHS contributions, benefits access and capping of numbers (Australian style system) but it could be argued that this applies more to general immigration. From over 20 years’ experience Season Workers suggest that the young people going or coming to work a season abroad between the UK and EU with the intention of exploiting that countries benefits system, or claiming benefits for any reason, are vanishingly rare. Even when the UK was in the EU there were restrictions on none-nationals claiming benefits in the UK and in the EU.

Obviously, all people need housing and healthcare but surely that can be dealt with via private or state reciprocal health insurance schemes like the old EHIC (now the GHIC). The scheme proposed has a limit of 2 or 3 years in any case and we are talking about an age group with low health risks. Many seasonal and short-term jobs come with accommodation, and all come with wages and or subsistence, so a scheme with the least friction possible would make this accessible for British people of all backgrounds. This also mitigates any perceived impact on housing in many cases.

Any up-front costs, quotas or tiered employment rights that the government will feel pressured into insisting on are unlikely to save much if any public money. Cost benefit studies on any immigration to the UK economy are usually positive and here we are talking about a group limited by age, UK and EU citizens only, and with a time limit. Unnecessary restrictions will be seen as political over practical, and they would obviously have to apply to British young people as well.

The experience of living in neighbouring foreign countries, learning languages and personal growth is at the heart of working seasons abroad for our young people. It fosters understanding over fear and builds resilience. Apart from the societal contribution, it also greatly benefits economic growth in industries like tourism, agriculture and hospitality both in the UK and EU.

We are pleased to hear that the EU Commission and this UK government are reported to be planning meaningful negotiations on this and we very much hope they manage to sort it out.