The British government has confirmed that it will rejoin the EU Erasmus student exchange program starting in January 2027.
The agreement, finalized after months of intense negotiations in Brussels, will see the UK participate in the EU Erasmus student exchange program for the 2027/28 academic year.
Under the new terms, British students at universities, vocational colleges, and even apprentices will once again be able to study and train across the 27 EU member states without the burden of prohibitive international tuition fees.
The agreement also covers opportunities to study or train abroad for school pupils, adult learners, educators, and sports coaches.
“The UK has successfully agreed terms to join the Erasmus+ programme in 2027, widening opportunities for young people from all backgrounds, learners, educational, youth, and sport staff to study and train abroad,” a UK government statement said.
Erasmus+ would allow people in further education and apprenticeships to also take advantage of the arrangement.
The UK government said some 100,000 people could benefit in just the first year.
Speaking on the development, Britain’s EU Relations Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said the agreement “is a huge win for our young people, breaking down barriers and widening horizons to ensure everyone, from every background, has the opportunity to study and train abroad.”
The UK will pay about 570 million pounds ($860 million) for the first year, with the cost for future years to be set later.
Once the scheme reopens for 2027, students in the UK will be able to apply for an Erasmus placement via their school, university, college, or place of work if it is participating.
Those who can apply are: students at university or college, apprentices in vocational training, school pupils as part of a class or group, adult learners with an adult learning organisation, staff working in education (can travel to train or teach abroad), and volunteers at youth organisations (can travel for training or workshops).
Also, the funding covers travel costs, living costs, course fees, visa and entry costs, organisational costs, and preparatory visits.
The UK government also announced that it will launch a website with more information by summer 2026.
Pan-Atlantic Kompass reports that the almost four-decade-old program is one of the bloc’s most popular achievements and has allowed millions of young Europeans to study in other countries. The program includes several non-EU countries, such as Iceland and Norway.
The Erasmus scheme was named after the Dutch Renaissance theologian Desiderius Erasmus.
Born in late 15th-century Rotterdam, Erasmus was a humanist who was the greatest scholar of the northern Renaissance, the first editor of the New Testament, and also an important figure in patristics and classical literature, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.
As a lecturer, Erasmus travelled a lot within Europe to both teach and study at a number of universities.
The European Commission’s webpage on the programme also sets out that “Erasmus” works as an acronym for “The European Community Action Scheme for Mobility of University Students”.
The development comes after the UK voted in 2016 to leave the EU and left in 2020 with a bare-bones trade deal that ended the right of British citizens to live, study, and work freely across the bloc. Then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson pulled Britain out of Erasmus, saying it was not good value for money.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s center-left Labour Party government pledged to repair ties with the EU strained by years of acrimony over Brexit.
In May, the UK and the EU announced new agreements on trade, travel, and defense, and the two sides are negotiating on lowering trade barriers for food and drink products and on a wider youth-mobility program.
