Summary
Youth mobility schemes aim to give young people a chance to live, work, and acquire experience in another country, while fostering cultural exchanges and strengthening ties between countries. These short-term schemes can help address key seasonal labour shortages – and may plant the seeds to help address labour needs in the longer term. Given the win-win dynamic of student working holiday visa schemes, it is not surprising that several countries already have initiatives in place to support short-term youth mobility. However, especially in case of EU Member States, these schemes are limited in scope to particular origin countries and limited in scale. Making such schemes accessible to a wider geographic range of students – and future skilled workers – can also support EU migration diplomacy with priority partners, whether these are, for instance, neighbourhood countries, those with existing visa liberalisation schemes, or where EU Talent Partnerships are being negotiated. Building on past ICMPD research on student working holidays, this EU-funded and ICMPD- implemented Migration Partnership Facility (MPF) research project will explore existing schemes and identify opportunities for the rollout of a future pilot via desk research, interviews with scholars and practitioners, and engagement with selected Member States.
Project Contact
Justyna Segeš Frelak
Senior Policy Advisor
Caitlin Katsiaficas
Policy Analyst