EU students applying for a place at an English university in 2017 will still be eligible for student loans and grants over the duration of their course, ministers have said.

The announcement will provide some welcome reassurance to university vice-chancellors, who had raised repeated concerns about the financial uncertainties facing EU applicants in the run-up to Brexit, writes Helen Warrell.

At the moment, Brussels rules dictate that any student from within the bloc must be able to access the same level of financial assistance afforded to domestic students. The government had already confirmed that UK-backed loans would be available to EU students for the 2016/17 academic year, but have now extended this to 2017/18 as well.

Jo Johnson, universities minister, said that international students made an “important contribution” to UK universities, and that he wanted this to continue.

“This latest assurance that students applying to study next year will not only be eligible to apply for student funding under current terms, but will have their eligibility maintained throughout the duration of their course, will provide important stability for both universities and students,” he said.

“We are also taking steps, through our Higher Education Bill, to maintain the world status of our universities while delivering students value for money and choice and employers the skills they need to help our economy grow.”

There are currently just under 125,000 EU students in the UK, of which over 78,000 are studying at undergraduate level.