Student loan borrowers living overseas are now paying up, after a high profile arrest at the border.

LISTEN ABOVE: Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce speaks to Mike Hosking

The first two months of this year have seen a 31 percent boost in repayments compared with the same period last year.

Overseas borrowers have paid back $29.7 million, which the IRD puts down to the arrest at the beginning of this year.

In January, Cook Islands man Ngatokotoru Puna, 40, was arrested over his student loan debt as he tried to leave New Zealand.

SEE ALSO: Cook Islands PM's nephew arrested over $130,000 student loan debt

Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce said they didn't do it to scare people into paying, they're just determined to recover the money.

"We actually had $2.2 million paid from people clearing 103 loans completely outright. Basically, they hadn't paid for years, then they just paid their loans off, just like that," he said.

Mr Joyce said it's a pity it took the high-profile arrest to get people moving but, to some extent, they're willing to do whatever it takes.

However, New Zealand Union of Students' Associations President Linsey Higgins said concerns are growing amongst New Zealand-based borrowers about making repayments, especially because the earning threshold's below minimum wage.

She said other countries are easing-up on repayment requirements and New Zealand should follow suit.

"A much higher bracket at which students start making repayments, and for some people they never see the outcome of their degree, and countries are acknowledging that actually they're not going to put people under increasing pressure to pay back this debt that they simply can't afford."