OXFORD University will pay for staff and their families to apply to stay in the UK after Brexit.

The institution has joined Oxford University Hospitals Trust in offering to cover the £65 fee for EU citizens to register for settled status.

The Home Office is currently running a pilot scheme until December 21 which covers all employees of higher education institutions, including Oxford.

It gives the right to continue to live, work and study in the UK for people who have been resident for more than five years.

It also allows workers who have been in the UK less than five years to register for pre-settlement status and qualify for settlement status later on.

The pilot is open to all staff but not their families who will not be able to apply until the full scheme comes into place on March 29, 2019.

A statement said: "Ever since the EU referendum result was announced, the university has been clear that European staff are greatly valued members of the Oxford community.

"It is committed to ensuring that all colleagues from the EU keep the rights and freedoms they currently enjoy."

Yesterday the Government revealed its plan for immigration post-Brexit with low-skilled workers from EU countries no longer enjoying the automatic right to work in the country.