Erasmus: What could happen to the scheme after Brexit?
By Anthony Reuben
BBC Reality Check
- Published
The Erasmus scheme is a European Union (EU) programme that helps students study in other countries.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that the UK will not continue to participate in it and will be replacing it with a new scheme named after the mathematician Alan Turing.
He said leaving Erasmus had been a "tough decision" but that under the new scheme, students would "have the opportunity... not just to go to European universities, but to go to the best universities in the world".
The EU's Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said he regretted the decision.
Students at universities in Northern Ireland will continue to participate in Erasmus, as part of an arrangement with the Irish government.
The UK government has already introduced a new immigration regime for students.
The UK left the EU on 31 January, entering into a transition period until the end of 2020. During this time, the UK-EU relationship continued much as it was before - including the Erasmus scheme.
Although coronavirus is now affecting student mobility, figures from before the pandemic showed that about half of UK university students who studied abroad did so through Erasmus.
In 2017, 16,561 UK students participated in Erasmus, while 31,727 EU nationals came to the UK.
Erasmus is also involved in vocational training and work overseas, as well as with teachers who want to work or train abroad.
A report from the House of Lords EU Committee warned the benefits of the Erasmus programme would be very difficult to replicate with a national programme as the government is planning.
It added that vocational education and training would stop, and that leaving Erasmus would "disproportionately affect people from disadvantaged backgrounds and those with medical needs or disabilities".
UK universities are still eligible to participate in Erasmus programmes. And as long as funding is awarded before the end of 2020, students and staff will be able to go ahead with their exchanges even if they take place after the end of the transition period.
Universities UK's guidance is that: "In effect, this means staff and students can complete mobility periods and receive funding up until the end of the 2021-22 academic year."
However, UK and EU students will have to deal with new immigration regulations.
UK nationals will only be able to stay in an EU country for 90 out of every 180 days without a visa (except for Ireland, which will still have free movement with the UK). The immigration regime will vary between EU members. You can find UK government advice on each country here.
EU nationals coming to the UK under the Erasmus scheme would be admitted under the short-term study route for periods of less than six months. However, for a longer period they would have to apply for a student visa in the same way as somebody wishing to study a whole degree course in the UK.
The government has published guidance for UK nationals planning to study in the EU, and encourages students to contact their educational institutions to check what will change next year.
It also encourages prospective students to consider wider issues such as visa requirements and health and travel insurance.
The Erasmus programme is run in seven-year cycles and the next one will be from 2021 to 2027.
The European Commission has proposed doubling the funding of Erasmus for the next cycle to €30bn (£27bn).
And while the details have not yet been agreed, there have been suggestions it may become easier for non-EU countries to participate, although clearly they would have to pay to do so.
It is already the case that not all the countries that participate in the programme are EU members.
For example, Turkey, Iceland, Norway and Serbia are all what is called "programme members", which means they participate fully.
But even if the government decides it wants to participate in Erasmus after 2021, it may not be able to negotiate that in time for the start of the cycle, so there could be a period when such programmes are not available for UK participants.
"The Erasmus+ programme has delivered and continues to deliver significant benefits to the UK and we need to ensure the positives of the programme are not lost as we move into the next stage," Jane Racz, the director of the programme in the UK, told BBC News.
"Since 2014, almost €1bn [£900m] of funding has been distributed to UK Erasmus+ projects, with over 930,000 participants involved."
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- Published
- 6 February 2019