Germany considers cutting citizen’s income for Ukrainian refugees

Germany is currently weighing a potential reduction in the level of social assistance granted to Ukrainian refugees who fled to the country following Russia’s invasion in 2022.

Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder, who also leads the Christian Social Union (CSU), a member of Germany’s ruling coalition, raised the issue during an interview with public broadcaster ZDF.

Söder argued that Ukrainians should no longer be eligible for Bürgergeld, or “citizen’s income,” and instead should receive less generous aid provided under the German Asylum Act.

“We need to reform the Bürgergeld system,” Söder said. “For instance, Ukrainians should stop receiving citizens’ income. This should apply not just to new arrivals, but to everyone.”

Söder justified the proposal by noting that, despite generally having high educational qualifications, relatively few Ukrainians are employed in Germany.

His stance was backed by Torsten Frei, State Secretary at the Federal Chancellery, who cited official data showing that only about one-third of Ukrainians in Germany are currently working.

However, the proposal drew criticism from within the Christian Democratic bloc. Dennis Radtke, a European Parliament member from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), voiced opposition to applying the measure retroactively to all Ukrainians. While he supported shifting new arrivals to asylum-based support, Radtke warned that stripping current recipients of Bürgergeld would present significant administrative challenges. He also questioned whether such a move would help Ukrainians integrate into the labour market.

Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Oleksiy Makeyev responded to Söder’s remarks with concern, urging German officials not to turn Ukrainian refugees into scapegoats. Makeyev also expressed appreciation for the ongoing assistance provided by the German government and its taxpayers.

The current coalition agreement, signed on May 6, 2025, between the CDU/CSU and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), includes a clause stipulating that newly arriving Ukrainians should receive aid based on asylum legislation rather than through the Bürgergeld system. However, this policy has not yet been put into practice.

According to German television, Germany’s Bürgergeld payments rose by over 9% in 2024 compared to the previous year, reaching €46.9 billion. Of that sum, €6.3 billion was allocated to Ukrainian refugees.

Since the onset of the war in Ukraine, more than one million Ukrainian nationals have sought refuge in Germany.

By Tamilla Hasanova