Foreign students will be allowed to stay in the UK for longer after their degree ends in a bid to boost the post-Brexit economy by £35 billion, the Government has announced.

International students are currently only permitted to remain in the UK for up to four months after completing their studies under rules that were introduced by Theresa May when she was the Home Secretary.

But now their post-study leave period will be extended to six months for undergraduate and masters students and a year for doctoral students.

The move, which was initially proposed in the Immigration White Paper in December last year, also seeks to increase the number of international students in the UK to 600,000 by 2030.

There are currently 460,000 foreign university students in the UK, generating £20 billion per year through education exports - which includes income from international students, English language training and education technology solutions being sold worldwide.