Burak Bir
27 October 2026•Update: 27 October 2026
The British government on Tuesday confirmed that UK students will be able to take part in the Erasmus student exchange scheme as of Jan. 1, 2027.
A deal for the UK to rejoin Erasmus, the EU’s student exchange program, was announced earlier as multiple media outlets reported in 2025 that the UK would join the program in January 2027.
British Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer confirmed that young people wishing to study, train, or gain work experience in the EU can apply from November, with the UK rejoining the scheme as of Jan. 1.
Speaking in parliament, the minister noted that the scheme is not just for undergraduate university students but also involves educational institutions of all kinds.
The scheme is not limited to university-based study exchanges.
He also called on lawmakers "to work with the British Council, get their institutions engaged."
The Erasmus student exchange scheme was scrapped in Britain in December 2020, when the government announced its post-Brexit trade deal with the EU.
In the 2016 Brexit referendum, the majority of Britons voted in favor of the UK's withdrawal from the EU.
After the Brexit agreement was signed by representatives from Britain and the EU on Jan. 24, 2020, the UK officially withdrew from the bloc Jan. 31 of that year.
