About 19,500 such courses are currently offered in Germany, with roughly 300,000 participants, of whom about 31% are Ukrainian, according to German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has proposed limiting access to integration courses to people who have a “positive prospect of stay” in Germany — a move tied directly to budget pressures. A standard course costs about EUR3,000 ($3,530) per person, and literacy courses cost about EUR8,000 ($9,410). Dobrindt has said it is not possible for the federal government to fund the programs indefinitely.
A standard course includes 600 hours of German-language instruction and 100 hours of civic education covering topics such as Germany’s legal system and cultural values.
The ministry said noncitizens without a legal right to remain will be excluded from free participation in the courses, even if places are available. That group includes asylum seekers with pending applications (about 19% of current participants) and European Union citizens (about 9%), DW said.
The proposed limits have already drawn criticism from several of Germany’s federal states, which warned the restrictions could hinder integration and labor market participation, DW added.