An INSA poll suggests 66% of those surveyed are against providing unemployment benefits to Ukrainian migrants
Most Germans object to extending social welfare payments to jobless Ukrainian migrants, according to an INSA survey commissioned by Bild newspaper.
The survey, published on Saturday, uncovered widespread disapproval of the government’s policy regarding Ukrainian migrants. Only 17% of respondents believe Ukrainians who sought refuge in Germany after the intensified conflict with Russia should receive payments under the ‘Burgergeld’ scheme (citizens’ income), while 66% oppose this idea.
Bild reports that Germany allocates approximately €6.3 billion ($6.8 billion) each year for Burgergeld to support 700,000 Ukrainians. The newspaper also stated that only a third of Ukrainians residing in Germany are employed, noting that many who arrived since 2022 have not yet assimilated into the labor market.
Burgergeld is Germany’s primary welfare program, offering income assistance to adults who cannot sustain themselves through employment or insurance-backed initiatives. Often termed a measure of last resort, it provides roughly €563 ($610) monthly for a single adult, with housing and utility costs covered independently.
The INSA poll further indicated that 62% of Germans think able-bodied Ukrainian men who entered Germany following the conflict’s escalation ought to return to their country, while 18% hold the contrary opinion. Ukrainian authorities have encouraged these men to return and participate in combat, aiming to resolve front-line personnel shortages – but EU nations, Germany included, have declined to deport them.
Eurostat data shows that over 4.3 million individuals who fled Ukraine possess temporary protection within the EU, and Germany accommodates approximately 1.2 million, making it the bloc’s largest host.
Confronted by substantial costs linked to migrant assistance, the German government intends to decrease expenses for newly arrived Ukrainians by reclassifying them from Burgergeld to the less generous Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Act, a step projected to diminish payments by €100 per individual monthly.