The United Kingdom will rejoin the Erasmus+ programme from January 2027, under the autumn Immigration Rules update published by the Home Office, restoring a route for study, training and youth exchanges that closed when the UK left the EU scheme.

The change sits in Statement of Changes HC 584, published on 3 September 2026. Alongside the Erasmus+ return, HC 584 expands the permitted activities for visitors to include workshops, debates, skills competitions and rehearsals, plus specified Erasmus+ activities. The statement is staged: most changes took effect on 8 October 2026, with further changes on 29 October, 30 November and 9 December 2026, so the exact position for any applicant depends on the date their application is decided.

What this does not do

Rejoining Erasmus+ is a programme decision, not a visa in itself: participants will still need whatever permission their route requires, and the detailed Home Office guidance on how Erasmus+ participation interacts with individual visa routes is the document to check before planning. Nothing in this report is personal immigration advice. Immigration rules change frequently, and anyone planning an application should confirm the current position on the official GOV.UK pages or with a regulated immigration adviser.

Source: GOV.UK, Statement of Changes HC 584, 3 September 2026; Lewis Silkin summary of the autumn Immigration Rules changes, 30 September 2026.