Students allowed to round off Erasmus exchange after a hard Brexit

The European Commission announced in January that participants in the Erasmus+ programme shouldn’t lose out if the UK withdraws from the EU without a deal in place. The Commission’s proposal: anyone who has started on his or her Erasmus exchange programme before the withdrawal date should be free to round it off and retain his or her credits. The European Parliament has already endorsed this plan. Last week, the European Council followed suit.

Some 14,000 students and lecturers from the 27 EU member states are currently participating in an Erasmus+ programme in the United Kingdom. And vice versa, around 7,000 British students are on exchange in Europe. Previously there were fears that they would be forced to cancel their exchange in case of a no-deal Brexit, but this is no longer a concern.

Higher tuition fee

Nothing will change for the current batch of British diploma students who aren’t on exchange in the Netherlands. But after a hard Brexit, the UK will no longer be a member of the European Economic Area. This means that British citizens who decide to study at a Dutch university will be required to pay a higher tuition fee and will not be eligible for student finance. Last academic year, 3,109 British students were enrolled in a programme at a Dutch research university or university of applied sciences.

This week, the House of Commons will be holding votes on the future of Brexit. Should the deal be endorsed by parliament, the UK withdrawal will take effect as of 22 May. If not, the PM has until 12 April to draw up an alternative. If this plan also falls through, the United Kingdom will be leaving the EU with no arrangements in place.