“Do refugees receive too much money in Germany?”

The Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (55) said in the BILD interview: It is understandable “that potential refugees are chasing after the more generous benefits”.

Specifically, he says: Refugees who have already arrived and been registered in Greece are making their way to Germany because there are more services there.

Do refugees get TOO MUCH money from us?

The fact is that social benefits are higher in Germany than in other EU countries such as Greece, Italy or Spain.

And: Germany is the number one destination country for migration. Most asylum applications across the EU were made in Germany in 2022 (226,467).

That’s how much money refugees get

According to the “Asylum Seeker Benefits Act”, asylum seekers and tolerated persons are entitled to benefits. These include: cash and in-kind benefits for food, clothing and medicine.

► A single adult receives 410 euros per month for “pocket money” and “necessary needs” (possibly benefits in kind). Adults in the same household receive 369 euros. ► Children: 14-17 year olds: 364 euros; 6-13 year olds: 304 euros; 0-5 year olds: 278 euros.

The following services can also be added: accommodation, heating, hot water and furniture. The education and participation package can also be used (school trips, school supplies, sports, culture, etc.).

This is different for recognized refugees: They are entitled to the citizen’s benefit (formerly “Hartz IV”).

► The standard rate of citizen income is 502 euros for a single person. With two partners, 451 euros are paid each. ► Children: 14-17 year olds: 420 euros; 6-13 year olds: 348 euros; 0-5 year olds: 318 euros.

For comparison: In Greece, the average monthly income for singles is around 1560 euros gross. For career starters even only between 800 and 1150 euros.

Double asylum in Germany – for social benefits?

Are refugees who arrive in Greece – i.e. in an EU member state – allowed to travel on to Germany at all to apply for asylum here?

According to the Dublin rule, the EU state whose country a refugee entered first is responsible for an asylum procedure.

BUT: Higher administrative courts have decided that recognized refugees may not be sent back to Greece because, among other things, the social benefits are low.

Specialist lawyer for migration law, Philipp Pruy (35), explains in BILD: In Greece, “asylum seekers are often homeless”, living under “precarious conditions on the streets”. In Germany, on the other hand, “a roof over your head is guaranteed”.

► The Federal Office for Migration (BAMF) informed BILD that 14,200 first-time asylum applicants were registered in 2022, who previously received a protection title in Greece. In the first quarter of 2023 there were 2000 applicants.

Interior expert Alexander Throm (54, CDU) demands in BILD: “We need an alignment of social benefits – for refugees – within Europe!” And: “Where it is legally possible, our social benefits must be reduced.”

► Throm explains: On the one hand, different social benefits are an “incentive for refugees to travel illegally to the country that offers more social benefits.”

“On the other hand, it cannot be that the lowest social standards are not met in an EU state like Italy or Greece, so that our courts prohibit the return of refugees there,” said the domestic policy spokesman for the Union parliamentary group.

Stephan Thomae (54), parliamentary director of the FDP parliamentary group, holds against it. He to BILD: Even with lower benefits, “job prospects and the general standard of living would continue to make Germany one of the main countries of refuge in Europe”.

“In order to ease the refugee situation in Germany, the possibility should be created to also examine asylum applications in third countries,” demands interior expert Thomae. In the long term, “a reform of the common European asylum system” would be needed for fair distribution.