Sri Lanka
USA
Canada
India
UK
UAE
The UK is set to rejoin the Erasmus programme, five years after leaving it following Brexit, the BBC reports. The scheme, which allows students, apprentices, and trainees to study, train, or volunteer in other European countries for up to a year, will once again be open to UK participants from January 2027.
The UK had replaced Erasmus with its domestic Turing scheme in 2021, which funded similar placements worldwide. While government officials have not commented on ongoing negotiations, ministers are expected to announce the re-entry into Erasmus this Wednesday.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer previously suggested that youth mobility opportunities could be part of a renewed EU deal. Alex Stanley, from the National Union of Students (NUS), welcomed the news, calling it a “huge win for the student movement” after years of campaigning.
Historically, in the final year of UK participation in 2020, the Erasmus programme funded 9,900 UK students to travel abroad and brought 16,100 international students to the UK. Popular destinations included Spain, France, and Germany, with Glasgow, Bristol, and Edinburgh sending the most students.
The return of Erasmus is seen as a significant boost to educational mobility and a step toward repairing what critics have called the “disastrous Conservative Brexit deal,” according to Liberal Democrat universities spokesman Ian Sollom.
It remains unclear how the Turing scheme will operate once Erasmus is reintroduced.
