In Germany, there are plans to deprive Ukrainian refugees of civil benefits

Ukrainians in Germany may lose civil allowance of 563 Euros.

This was reported by Deutsche Welle.

Today, Finance Minister Christian Lindner announced that Ukrainians will soon stop receiving the civil allowance (Bürgergeld). This allowance is intended for unemployed citizens of Germany and amounts to 563 euros per month.

Ukrainians in Germany have been receiving this allowance since June 2022. Lindner stated that they will now be deprived of this benefit, and overall, social benefits will be reoriented.

“We need to consider a separate legal status for refugees from Ukraine. Ukrainians should not immediately receive the civil allowance, which is aimed at providing a socio-economic minimum and participation in society even without employment,” Lindner said.

According to the minister, Ukrainians should receive the same payments as other refugees, which currently amount to 460 euros – less than the Bürgergeld.

Lindner also noted that Ukrainians will not have to go through the asylum procedure as before, but they will no longer automatically receive the civil allowance.

DW reports that currently there are about 1.2 million Ukrainians in Germany, with 65% of them receiving Bürgergeld. This percentage is significantly higher than among people from other countries.

Meanwhile, today Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski mentioned that he had suggested to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to deprive Ukrainian refugees of social benefits in order to encourage them to return home.

“I suggested to him that the social benefits received by Ukrainian refugees, which can amount to up to 1,200 euros per month, would be better provided directly to Ukraine. It’s not good that there is a financial incentive to stay in Germany instead of men fighting on the front lines and women rebuilding the tax base,” Sikorski said in an interview with Polish TV channel TVP Info.

Earlier, it was reported that a mayor in Bavaria, Germany, had banned Ukrainian refugees from registering in his town, stating that there were no more places in kindergartens, schools, and accommodation centers.

It is also worth noting that starting next year, Germany will tighten the rules for receiving benefits. We detailed in a separate article what will change for Ukrainian refugees.