The Thin End Of The Wedge?

[sandyRoe]

A reciprocal agreement allowing young people from the UK to spend up to two years in Europe and their youngsters to come here can only be a good thing, into.

What say you?

https://www.independent.co.uk/bulletin/news/youth-mobility-visa-scheme-uk-brexit-b2750948.html

[douglas9401]

Great idea especially for our lot, let them see that life doesn't have to be a constant slog through drudgery.

[davebro3]

Anyone know what the current figures are for incomers & outgoers under the existing agreements?

[davebro3]

up to age 35 is stretching it a bit for "youngsters" 🙄

[fender62]

all i see is europes unemployed coming here

[naomi24]

I wouldn't trust anything Starmer does or says.  Look for the ulterior motive.

[Old_Geezer]

Another thread on this dodgy agreement ?

 

As before: it can only be a bad thing to allow folk in willy nilly.  Anyone who wants to come for more than a vacation should apply for a visa. 

[maggiebee]

My DIL's nephew spent 6 months in Europe using a European Rail Card. Had a great time and experienced many different cultures. What's not to like?

[sandyRoe]

But the EU might agree to reduce restrictions on our OAPs so they can enjoy longer periods in Benidorm and places like that.

A bit of quid pro quo can only be a good thing.

[Old_Geezer]

The OAPs were incapable of getting a visa ?!?!

 

Sounds an irrelevance to me. But maybe the OAPs are going to be taking the EU citizens' jobs, and lots of illegal OAPs are going to flood across the Channel to the EU.

[davebro3]

I'm betting Spain's economy is suffering from the restrictions on UK retirees & anti-tourism sentiment. Good.

[New Judge]

"A bit of quid pro quo can only be a good thing."

Not when the EU is involved. There will undoubtedly be far too much quo and not enough quid.

[ynnafymmi]

Lets hope all the unemployed,unemployable UK NEETS flock across the channel then,let the French and the Germans pay their dole money.

[maggiebee]

From link:

"Similar schemes already exist between the UK and 13 other countries, requiring applicants to have £2,530 in savings."

[fender62]

when you get a certain age you know it's smoke and mirrors, or subterfuge, ill say in all my years i have never seen such an inept government, it's so obvious... joke yet it's our reality, all i think of of is goverments around the world thinking best of britain......its actually embarrassing, example ex military forces doing there job...takne to court...gasp hiccup really.

[New Judge]

From the House of Lords Library (dated 27th January 2025):

“In April 2024, the European Commission made a proposal to the European Council to open negotiations with the UK on agreeing a youth mobility scheme between the UK and the EU. The Labour government has stated that it has no plans for a scheme with the EU.”

"In answer to a written question on 27 December 2024, the government said it had not been formally approached with a proposal, but it was “clear” that there would be no return to free movement:

“Regarding a youth mobility arrangement with the EU, the EU has not approached the UK with a formal proposal. The government routinely discusses a range of issues with European counterparts, but we are clear that there will be no return to free movement, and that we must reduce the UK’s levels of net migration after the record highs reached under the last government.”

So I wonder what happened between 25th January and now?

Read the rest of this:

https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/youth-mobility-schemes/#heading-2

And you will quickly see that the existing schemes are nothing like the scheme proposed by the EU, which will open up the UK to 80m young people from 27 countries.

From the link:

“Supporters argue the scheme won't significantly increase net migration due to its reciprocal nature and time limits, though critics disagree.”

I’m unsurprised that critics disagree as that is utter nonsense. There are more than 80m people in the EU aged between 18 and 30. The number in the UK is around 8.5m. So it would take some ten times the proportion of young people in the UK to take advantage of the scheme before they exceeded the proportion of EU citizens applying to come here.

This is a totally unnecessary scheme. It effectively opens the UK’s borders to 80m people. Whilst that’s a bit better than the 450m who had the right to settle here when we were EU members, it is still something that will cause difficulties. Housing is an enormous problem in the UK and the idea that UK people using the scheme will free up housing for those arriving under it is risible.

We have a clueless government led by a duplicitous Prime Minister who is enraptured by the EU and will do anything to bring the UK back into its orbit. I only hope he does not manage to do too much damage before being thrown out.

[Hymie]

The Brexit – ‘North Korea’ mentality is still strong amongst ABers.

[Deskdiary]

Once again, and with boring regularity, Hymie brings a spoon to a knife fight.

[THECORBYLOON]

The existing schemes with other countries have caps limiting the number of visas, the limit for Australia is  42,000 for example.

There is no reason why limits could not be applied either to the EU as a whole or to individual nations. 

[New Judge]

"There is no reason why limits could not be applied either to the EU as a whole or to individual nations." 

No there isn't. Except this is the EU we are dealing with and I can almost guarantee they will not hear of it.

They most certainly would not agree to different limits for individual countries as they will not countenance differential treatment for their members.

The previous government floated the idea of a scheme with Spain and the EU apparatchiks swiftly responded by stating it must be an EU wide scheme. The UK suggested they would be open to talk about that if Romania and Bulgaria were excluded and that wasa met with the predictable response.

The EU doesn't do negotiating. It's their way or no way. They are best given a wide berth.

[belgiumvisa]

A new youth mobility visa scheme, for those aged 18-30, will let the youth live, work, and travel through Europe, for two years. This is not the free movement granted under the EU treaties; rather, it is a consent-based arrangement with an annual cap of 70,000 to 100,000 visas and other stipulations. This is one of the substantial perks for young UK travellers, especially for those hunting for more than just a long weekend on a Schengen tourist visa. It gives them considerably more free time to travel, study, and even legally perform within several European countries without undergoing an intolerable visa process.
This one sets the pacing since, after Brexit, it is something that should have been done, allowing young UK nationals and Europeans to maintain contacts, gain experience, and help their local economies.