Germany plans to reduce payments to Ukrainian refugees who arrived after April 1, 2025.
The publication writes about this Deutsche Welle with reference to the draft law submitted by the German Ministry of Labor.
The German Cabinet must decide whether to transfer Ukrainians who arrive in the country after April 1, 2025, to another social benefits system.
The idea is that instead of the generous "Bürgergeld" social assistance package that current refugees receive, new arrivals will be paid under the law on payments to asylum seekers.
The difference is significant:
The "Bürgergeld" is 563 euros for a single person and also covers health insurance, rent and heating.
Payments to asylum seekers are 441 euros, which is the subsistence minimum in Germany for this category of people from all over the world.
The publication notes that talks about the intention to reduce payments began back in February 2025. The initiative is supported by the key parties of the government coalition - the CDU/CSU and the SPD.
Will payments be taken back?
German Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Berbel Bass assured that the principle of retroactive effect is not planned to be applied.
"The draft law includes mechanisms that allow avoiding the application of the principle of retroactivity to persons who arrived after April 1," — the publication quotes the minister.
She also added that if the law is adopted, the transition of Ukrainians to the new legal field will be carried out "gradually."
Lawyers are already pointing to serious problems that the reform could cause. The greatest risk concerns Ukrainians who arrive after April 1, 2025 and manage to rent housing before the law is fully implemented.
"Depending on what exactly will be written in the law, in three months, when the standard terms for terminating the lease expire, the question may arise of whether people will be evicted to the street or to a refugee shelter," explained social protection expert Thomas Franz.
If the government cancels subsidies for housing rentals, social services, according to current rules, would have to continue paying for it for another six months. However, what will happen under the new law is currently unknown.
In addition to the government, the bill still needs to be approved by the federal states. And here the financial issue arises.
Currently, the social benefits of "Bürgergeld" are mainly covered by the federal budget. If the newly arrived Ukrainians are transferred to the regular procedure for asylum seekers, their maintenance will fall on the shoulders of local budgets.
It is the local authorities who will be responsible for accommodating Ukrainian refugees in shelters and social housing if their current housing lease agreements are terminated.
