Germans back tougher limits on migrant benefits – poll
Around 66% of respondents believe migrants should only receive full benefits after working for an extended period
Two-thirds of Germans want to see migrants’ access to social benefits restricted, a poll commissioned by public broadcaster WDR has found.
Around 66% of respondents said migrants should only receive full benefits after working in Germany for an extended period, the outlet reported on Monday. The survey, conducted by Infratest dimap research institute earlier this month, interviewed 2,084 people aged 16 and over across the country.
Germany hosts the largest migrant population in the EU; 15% of its residents are foreign nationals born abroad, according to official statistics, and around 70% of the migrants are employed.
Foreign nationals account for 47% of recipients of ‘Burgergeld’, Germany’s main welfare scheme for people unable to support themselves through work, which pays around €563 per month plus housing and utilities. WDR noted that eligibility rules vary depending on the person’s origin and the type of benefit.
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The issue is particularly visible in the case of Ukrainians, the second-largest migrant group in Germany after Turks, numbering around 1.41 million as of late 2025. Following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, Berlin granted Ukrainians immediate access to Burgergeld, a faster and more generous pathway than for most other refugee groups.
The employment rate among working-age Ukrainians is around 34%, though the number has been steadily increasing since 2022.
By contrast, Syrians, another major non-EU group, numbering about 936,000, initially receive asylum-seeker benefits before transitioning to full welfare after their asylum applications are approved. The employment rate among Syrians is around 42-47% overall, rising to 60% among those who arrived in 2015 and 2016.
In November, Chancellor Friedrich Merz called the figure “unacceptably low” and began tightening the system. Faced with high expenses associated with migrant support, his government cut benefits for new arrivals to around €441 per month, aligning them with asylum-seeker benefits, and introduced stricter job-seeking rules. Last month, the Bundestag also approved a broader reform replacing Burgergeld with a new ‘basic income support’ system that keeps payments roughly the same but adds tougher sanctions, set to take effect in July.
