Refugees from Ukraine who arrived in Germany only after 31 March will not shortly be entitled to the unemployment benefit, but only to lower benefits for another asylum seekers. specified a regulation is planned by the German government.
According to the policy of the ruling chadetia and the Minister of Interior of the Land of Saxony Armin Schuster, this solution should be implemented as shortly as possible. Because, as he argues, the number of refugees from Ukraine has late been expanding again. At the same time, Poland has just tightened its regulations on this matter.
It is essential to introduce planned changes "better for yesterday than for tomorrow" – Schuster, quoted by DPA. – The current decisions of our Polish neighbours bring results. Therefore, this amendment is essential as shortly as possible," he added. As he said, Germany "already today, alongside Poland, bears a lion's share of the aid costs to Ukrainian refugees". After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, about 1.3 million refugees from this country fled Germany.
The numbers are increasing again.
According to data from the Ministry of the Interior of Saxony, the number of people from Ukraine seeking refuge in the region has late increased again. While 35 people arrived in this east German union country from July 28 to August 3, there were already 100 of them in the week from August 25 to 31, according to DPA.
The media binds this increase to the decision of the Polish authorities, which just reduced social benefits for Ukrainian citizens. The amendment of the Polish Act on this issue provides, among others, that the benefit 800 plus will be granted only to those Ukrainian citizens who work in Poland. Access to free wellness benefits for uninsured Ukrainians was besides restricted.
There has besides been a discussion in Germany on social benefits for refugees from Ukraine for a long time. In mid-2022, the German government decided that these refugees, unlike asylum seekers for example, would be able to work in Germany and, in the absence of a surviving income, would besides receive a civic benefit (this year it amounts to EUR 563 for a single person). This allowed, among others, many matters related to consulting and training in 1 place, i.e. at the office of work.
Work on the fresh law
In August, the German Ministry of Labour prepared a bill that provided for the deprivation of the right to civilian benefit of Ukrainian citizens who arrived in Germany after 31 March 2025. They will be entitled to a benefit for asylum seekers, which is about 20% lower than the civilian benefit.
According to the data of the national Labour Agency in August this year, about 700,000 refugees from Ukraine have the right to civilian benefit, including about 200,000 children. As of May this year, 332,000 were employed. In 2024, about €6.3 billion was paid to Ukrainian refugees. This is due to the consequence of the national Ministry of Labour to the request of the AfD faction in the Bundestag, which quoted the ZDF station. According to data from the national Ministry of the Interior, about 21,000 Ukrainians arrived in Germany from 1 April 2025, which may be affected by the planned restrictions.
