The UK looks increasingly likely to agree to a post-Brexit youth mobility scheme with the European Union at a major UK-EU summit on Monday.
Such an agreement would be a major step towards resetting Boris Johnson’s damaging Brexit deal, and has been pushed by European officials for months.
The move, which is being demanded by European countries and commissioners in Brussels, would help to create much closer ties with the bloc and begin to repair the shattered relationship left by the previous Tory government.
Here, The Independent looks at how such a scheme would work in practice, who would be eligible to take part and whether or not there is support for it in Britain.
What would be the key features of a youth mobility scheme?
An agreement of this nature would allow young people in the UK and the EU to move and work freely between countries for a limited period of time. It is likely to include 18- to 30-year-olds, potentially extending to those under 35 as well.
It is thought that they would be able to live and work abroad for up to two years. However, there is some suggestion that figures in the government are pushing for this period to be reduced to just one year instead.
Do similar schemes exist already?
Britain already has similar agreements with 13 countries, including Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Iceland, Uruguay, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
The scheme is currently available for those aged 18 to 30 or 18 to 35, depending on where they are from, and allows them to live and work in the UK for up to two years. In order to qualify for the scheme, individuals must have £2,530 in savings to show they are able to support themselves while living in Britain.
Would the British public back the scheme?
There is widespread support for such an agreement, with a YouGov survey of almost 15,000 people indicating that two-thirds (66 per cent) backed the scheme, compared to just one in five (18 per cent) who are opposed.
In Nigel Farage’s Clacton-on-Sea constituency, which voted overwhelmingly in favour of leaving the EU in 2016, more than twice as many people were in favour (57 per cent) than against (25 per cent) the idea of a mobility scheme.
Would it drive up net migration?
Supporters of the agreement insist it wouldn’t drive up net migration, arguing that young people in the UK would be keen to move abroad, in the same way that young people in the EU would be keen to come here. Meanwhile, the time-limited nature of the scheme means they wouldn’t be able to permanently settle abroad.
There is also speculation that there would be a cap on numbers – or a “one-in-one-out” policy – to ensure that those coming to the UK remain balanced with the number of people leaving.
However, without that cap, critics argue Britain would end up taking more young people than it loses. Meanwhile, others argue that a youth mobility scheme would be a return to freedom of movement enjoyed by travellers when the UK was part of the EU by the back door.
Sir Keir’s “red lines” for the negotiations with Brussels include no return to freedom of movement between countries. But it is understood that the government considers a limited youth mobility scheme would not break that promise because of the time limit.
