Britain will remain in the European Union until next year unless Parliament ratifies Boris Johnson's Brexit deal sooner, the remaining member states have agreed.
Following a meeting of ambassadors, European Council president Donald Tusk said the EU27 would accept the UK's request for a Brexit "flextension" until January 31.
The Prime Minister has said in the past that he would prefer to be "dead in a ditch" than miss the October 31 deadline.
Mr Tusk tweeted: "The EU27 has agreed that it will accept the UK's request for a £Brexit flextension until 31 January 2020.
"The decision is expected to be formalised through a written procedure."
The announcement will pile pressure on opposition parties to decide whether to back a pre-Christmas general election, with MPs voting later on Monday on a Government bid to hold a poll on December 12.
Labour has said it will only back the move if Mr Johnson makes "absolutely clear" that no-deal is off the table and a January extension is granted.
But the Liberal Democrats and SNP have put forward a tightly-drafted Bill that would grant an election on December 9 - three days earlier than the PM's suggested polling date - as long as the European Union grants an extension until January 31.
The Prime Minister's election bid on Monday, to be made under the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act (FTPA), would require a two-thirds Commons majority - 434 MPs - to agree to an election on December 12.
