Education minister Jet Bussemaker has outlined plans which she says will save €8.6m a year on the student loan budget from 2019.

Most money can be recovered from students who have left the Netherlands without paying off their debt and without leaving a forwarding address, the minister said. Former students who had emigrated repaid €3.2m in a pilot project last year, the minister told MPs in a briefing.

Controls will also be tightened up on European Union students who are entitled to Dutch financial help because they work at least 56 hours a month in the Netherlands.

Employers, the immigration service, social services and the tax office will be consulted in making those checks to make sure the rules are being adhered to, the minister said.

In addition, more must be done to stop fraud, in which students claim extra funding they are not entitled to.