Mark Harper, the immigration minister, said that ministers are examining options for a “mandatory register” for European nationals who want to use British services.
He made the disclosure after David Cameron said foreigners are taking advantage of the NHS and should only get free treatment if they have been paying taxes.
The Coalition is under political pressure over the potential arrival in Britain next year of Romanian and Bulgarian workers when restrictions on their movement lapse. Mr Harper said that such arrivals could be forced to register as British residents before being able to use services.
Mr Harper told ITV: “It's certainly an idea we are looking at. Some other EU countries already have a mandatory register for access to public services and we're looking at the costs and benefits to see if it’s sensible.”
The Prime Minister earlier said the health service should not automatically be free for foreigners from outside the EU.
Speaking to workers at B&Q in Eastleigh, he added that Britain must also get better at charging other EU countries when their citizens use the NHS.
"We're not tough enough right now about people coming from the other side of the world who decide to use our health service," he said. "They haven't contributed in their taxes. They should pay when they use the NHS."
Mr Cameron criticised the current system as he was asked about the pressure on NHS services if a wave of Bulgarians and Romanians immigrate to Britain when restrictions are lifted next year.
"We've made some progress. But there's a lot more to do to make sure that, while we're welcoming to immigrants, we don't allow people to come here and take advantage of us, because I think that does happen too often," he said.
He also criticised the scale of welfare spending on British claimants. Up to ten people's annual taxes could go towards supporting the housing benefit of just one family in the most extreme cases, he said.
The Prime Minister said the "scale of the problem" is shown by the £20 billion housing benefit bill, which is two-thirds of Britain's entire defence budget.
Mr Cameron this week launched a review into how foreigners access benefits. On Thursday's visit to support the Conservative Eastleigh by-election campaign, he said this review will look at all welfare payments and services, including health, housing and legal aid as well as traditional benefits.
It comes after GPs wrote to ministers last month demanding changes to stop widespread health tourism costing the NHS millions of pounds a year.
At the moment GPs must treat almost anybody who comes into their surgery. New guidance was issued last year stipulating that “nationality is not relevant” when it comes to registration, and stating doctors had to register those from anywhere on the globe to “promote human rights and public health”.
GPs point out that once a foreigner patient has registered, hospital staff hardly ever check whether they are also entitled to more specialist NHS care.
In 2010 a Department of Health report found that health tourism was costing the NHS at least £10 million a year in unrecovered costs, although doctors believe the true figure is far higher because most goes undetected.
