Germany cuts refugee integration assistance
Ukrainian refugees arriving in Germany (Photo: Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters)
Berlin’s planned cuts to funding for integration courses for
noncitizens will significantly affect Ukrainian refugees, German
Interior Ministry said on Feb. 19, as reported by the DPA news agency.
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.
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