Chris Skidmore outlined the measure in a statement published on the gov.uk website on Tuesday. He added that EU nationals would also remain eligible for undergraduate and postgraduate financial support for the same period, regardless of whether a Brexit deal is in place.

According to the statement, some 37,000 EU students applied for full-time undergraduate courses in England in 2019, up 1.9% the year before. Some 2,000 students from Luxembourg are believed to be enrolled at universities in the UK.

In England, tuition fees are currently capped at £9,250 (€10,475) per year for UK and EU students. Under existing withdrawal agreements, after the newly announce grace period, EU students would have to pay the same fees as international students, which vary between £10,000 (€11,325) and £38,000 (€42,035).