The government has confirmed that the UK will rejoin the Erasmus student exchange programme from 2027, six years after ending its participation as part of Brexit.
Students in the UK will be able to spend a year in Europe as part of their degree courses without paying extra fees, and vice versa for Europeans.
The Starmer government announced that the UK will contribute approximately £570m to the scheme to cover the 2027/2028 academic year.
The government said that it has secured a 30% discount on what it would have paid under its current trade agreement with the EU, which encompasses many other industries. It added that any participation in the Erasmus scheme beyond that year will need to be agreed in the future.
The Erasmus scheme enables students to study, train or volunteer in other European countries for up to a year, without paying any extra fees. It is also open to those in vocational training, apprentices or people who are retraining through a college or school.
Students usually pay fees to their home institutions, with additional costs covered by the European Union, funded by taxpayers’ money. Almost 1.5 million people and 85,600 organisations took part in the Erasmus scheme in 2024.
The Erasmus scheme was scrapped in the UK in December 2020, when the government announced its post-Brexit trade deal with the EU. Boris Johnson, the then-Prime Minister, said that it was a “tough decision” but the scheme had become “extremely expensive.”
The following year, it was replaced with the Turing scheme, named after British mathematician and codebreaker Alan Turing, which has operated since then and funds similar placements worldwide.
Today’s announcement come after months of negotiations, and are part of a broader planned reset of UK-EU relations by the Labour government.
EU Relations Minister, Nick Thomas-Symonds called the move to rejoin the Eramus scheme a “huge win” for young people – saying it will ensure everyone has the opportunity to study and train abroad.
“This is about more than just travel: it’s about future skills, academic success, and giving the next generation access to the best possible opportunities. Today’s agreements prove that our new partnership with the EU is working.”
Nick Thomas-Symonds
Separately, Minister for Skills, Baroness Jacqui Smith, said that the move will “open doors” for students and university staff.
The UK’s re-entry to the Erasmus scheme is one of a number of new agreements it has reached with the EU. Negotiators are also embarking on talks for the UK to participate in the EU’s internal electricity market, with the aim of lowering energy costs for British citizens and businesses.
The government says closer cooperation on electricity will boost investment in the North Sea and strengthen energy security. The UK and EU are also progressing talks on a new food and drink deal ahead of the next UK-EU Summit in 2026.
Turing Scheme Faces Uncertain Fate
It is not yet clear what will happen to the Turing scheme, which was set up in 2021, once the UK rejoins Erasmus.
Created as a replacement for Erasmus, the Turing scheme has a more global reach, sending students to countries outside of Europe, including Canada, Japan and the US.
More than 40,000 placements were funded by the Turing scheme in the 2024 to 2025 academic year, costing £105m in funding.
When it was introduced by Johnson’s government, Ministers said that the scheme was an “improvement” on Erasmus due to its worldwide scope and increased funding for travel costs.
They also said that the programme would particularly help students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Around half of last year’s placements fell into this category.
This year, the scheme saw its budget significantly reduced, as well as a fall in daily living allowances for students. This led some colleges in particular to warn it was becoming hard to sustain trips – especially for the most disadvantaged students.
The government has confirmed the Turing scheme placements under way this year won’t be affected, but there is no long term certainty.
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