German government proposes changing legal status of Ukrainian refugees

Germany's Finance Minister, Christian Lindner, suggests reviewing the legal status of Ukrainian refugees to reduce social welfare costs and encourage more Ukrainians receiving benefits to join the workforce.

The politician stated in a comment to Wirtschaftswoche that the government should "consider a separate legal status for Ukrainian refugees". This would help reduce state expenses allocated for Ukrainians.

Lindner's idea is to offer asylum seekers' benefits along with labour market policy tools instead of the Bürgergeld payments currently received by Ukrainians, which are equivalent to those for other residents. Bürgergeld is a larger allowance than what asylum seekers typically receive.

In Lindner’s view, Ukrainians should not need to go through the formal asylum request procedure in Germany. 

"However, they also should not automatically receive Bürgergeld, which is aimed at meeting the social and economic minimum, including social participation, even without employment," Lindner said.

Lately, there has been a wide discussion in Germany about reducing aid for Ukrainian refugees. 

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians who found refuge in the country to seek employment. 

The German government has also recently approved a draft law introducing stricter requirements for Bürgergeld recipients.