No more citizenship
Majority supports cuts for new Ukraine refugees
According to the coalition of the Union and the SPD, new war refugees from Ukraine will soon receive lower services. The measure is popular.
The planned reduction in state services for newcomers from Ukraine is very well received by the population. This resulted in a representative survey by the opinion research institute YouGov on behalf of the German Press Agency.
According to this, more than three out of four Germans (77 percent) advocate that new war refugees from Ukraine will soon no longer receive civil allowance, but instead the lower services for asylum seekers. Eleven percent of the participants consider this decision of the new black and red coalition to be wrong. Twelve percent of the respondents did not dare to judge on this question.
Details still have to be spelled out
The CDU, CSU and SPD coalition agreement literally says: “Refugees with a right of residence according to the mass influx directive, which have entered according to April 1st, 2025, should receive services according to the Asylum Seekers Benefit Act, provided they are in need.”
The need must also be detected by consistent and nationwide uniform asset tests.
How the new regulation will be precisely designed is not yet known. Asylum seekers receive the lower services according to the Asylum Seekers Benefit Act for a maximum of 36 months, as long as no residence permit has yet been issued. If the residence status has been clarified, for example through recognition as a refugee, if someone is in need, there is entitlement to citizenship.
Ukraine refugees do not have to apply for asylum
For Ukrainian war refugees, however, the “Mass Admission Directive” has been in effect since 2022. This means that you receive a residence status without having to apply for asylum.
The refugees from Ukraine have been entitled to civil allowance in Germany since June 1, 2022, if they cannot make a living themselves. That should change soon. You should get the lower asylum seekers again. Those who have been in Germany for a long time do not affect this planned change.
The validity of the EU directive for the Ukraine refugees had been extended until March 2026. More than 1.25 million Ukrainian refugees currently live in Germany. Over 60 percent of people from Ukraine who have been looking for refuge in this country on February 24, 2022 since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression.
Of the total of 2,275 voters who took part in the YouGov survey between last Friday and Monday, almost every third (30 percent) stated that they had not yet met any refugees from Ukraine.
dpa
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
