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Mobility has been seen as the hallmark of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) with student and graduate mobility being promoted and facilitated through the Bologna process. This paper follows the experiences of twelve UK educated mobile graduates of British and other European Union (EU) nationality and analyses both their skills gained by studying at a UK higher education institution and the obstacles they experienced to transfer their UK qualification to a different country. We demonstrate that graduates not only developedas part of their course and within the opportunities that the UK higher education environment offersbut also used various skills ranging from subject specific to language and generic skills in their current activities. While a UK degree is reputable and well known in other European countries, there seem to be limitations in relation to its transferability and recognition for studying and working beyond the UK which contribute to unequal treatment in the local labour market between domestic and foreign educated graduates. More than a decade after the inception of the Bologna process and the introduction of tools to facilitate mobility, structural barriers still exist which prevent the smooth recognition of skills and qualifications of mobile students and graduates within the EU. This has implications for further study and employment outcomes for mobile graduates but also for mobility decisions before and after higher education.

Official figures from the Home Office show an increase in mobility of the highly-skilled from the United Kingdom (UK) to other European countries. This paper analyses the social composition of intra-European mobile graduates from the UK in the context of recent political developments (Bologna-Process, European Higher Education Area). Using quantitative and qualitative data from a longitudinal study of students and its follow-up study, the paper compares the social composition and current activity of intra-European mobile graduates with those remaining in the UK. Personal and higher education-related variables together with the current type of employment were significant for the distinction between intra-European mobile graduates and 'UK stayers'. UK-educated mobile graduates were identified as 'Eurostars', who come from high social classes or studied at high tariff higher education institutions. Mobility was identified as one way for UK-educated graduates to avoid employment in non-graduate jobs and add further value to their undergraduate degrees.