UK and EU split over tuition fees for EU students in youth experience scheme negotiations

Talks between the United Kingdom and the European Union on a youth experience scheme have run into a problem as the two sides disagree over the level of tuition fees EU students should part to study at UK universities.

A UK government spokesperson said to News Tank: "Any final scheme must be time-limited, capped and will be based on our existing youth mobility schemes, which do not include access to home tuition fee status."

The EU, on the other hand, would like its citizens to pay the same tuition fees as UK citizens, similar to the deal signed with Switzerland on 02/03/2026.

The scheme would be in addition to the UK rejoining the EU Erasmus+ programme for student mobility in 2027. The two parties first agreed to launch negotiations on the youth experience scheme at the EU-UK Summit in May 2025, when they agreed that the UK could rejoin the student mobility programme.

In January 2026, the UK Trade and Business Commission published a report on a potential youth experience scheme with the EU, outlining 17 recommendations, including a baseline duration of two years with the option of…