16. Asylum seekers would receive 837 euros in Germany and would have no expenses for rent, food, clothing and mobile phones. Fake or not?
Facebook post from December 2022 stated that “This country is the downfall for us Germans,” writes a user on Facebook about a table that compares the alleged income of an “employee” with that of “asylum seekers”. According to this, employees receive only 1200 euro and would have only 100 euros left from their salary at the end of a month after deduction of their expenses, whereas “asylum seekers” would have 837 euros left because they would not incur any costs for rent, food or clothing.
HOW CAN WE VERIFY THIS?
The comparison is not new, it was already circulating in 2018. (Example). Even then, the numbers and the comparison were wrong, which is still the case today. Asylum seekers and asylum seekers receive significantly less money in Germany than indicated in the table. The comparison also refers to Austria, as can be seen from the word “GIS” – this stand for the “Gebühren Info Service GmbH”, which charges the broadcasting fees in Austria.
Refugees who apply for asylum in Germany receive cash and in-kind benefits under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act
According to the law, for example, people who are in an asylum procedure or whose asylum application has been officially recognized in Germany are entitled to benefits.
How much money they are entitled to is determined by the so-called standard requirement. The Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) explains what the standard requirement is on its website. It states that the standard requirement serves “to secure a livelihood” and includes “especially nutrition, clothing, personal care, household goods” and “household energy”. In addition, “needs for participation in social and cultural life in the community” are included in the benefits. A single person currently receives 367 euros per month under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act to cover this. If you live with a partner or are younger than 25, you get less.
For asylum seekers’ own apartments, “reasonable” costs for rent and heating are covered, as with Hartz IV or the citizens’ allowance. If people live in a reception facility, then electricity and heating are provided as a so-called in-kind service, so they do not receive cash, but electricity and heating in the accommodation.
WHAT ARE OTHER SOURCES SAYING?
Austrian fact-checker Mimikama concludes that the information refers to outdated numerical values from Austria, which concerned only a part of the asylum seekers. The comparison level also lags, as a lower than average content was deliberately given as a reference value. The suggestion that asylum seekers, for example, get mobile phones paid and are allowed to use the bus and train free of charge is also wrong! Cross-checking both German and Austrian information about how much asylum seekers are getting in both of the countries, it is easy to conclude that the information is false.
FAKE OR NOT?
The figures mentioned on Facebook do not refer to Germany, but to Austria and date from 2016 – even then, essential details were disregarded. Meanwhile, the payments have been increased to 977.94 euros. Asylum seekers must also cover expenses for food and partly rental costs. For Germany, the numbers are wrong. In total – this post is fake!
