In 2023, only 23,000 individuals arrived in the UK through the British youth mobility scheme.

This figure is minuscule compared to the overall net migration of 685,000, easing fears in the Labour government as pressure mounts to admit young EU holiday workers.

Most applicants were from Australia (9,900) and New Zealand (5,300).

The scheme allows people from 12 countries to work in the UK for two or three years, but post-Brexit, no such programme exists with the EU.

In 2024, popularity surged with 15,259 arrivals in the first half of the year.

EU countries are now discussing a new mobility proposal after a former Brussels scheme was rejected by both Labour and the Conservative government.

The proposed scheme aims to offer a three-year programme, aligning it with the existing UK-Australia agreement.

Currently, the British scheme is available to citizens from 12 countries including Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and South Korea.