The Federal Employment Agency has registered 2,500 notices nationwide, with which so-called refugee citizens should be asked to pay. As a Federal Government response to a question by AFD Representative René Springer, the claims nationwide so far amount to about 21 million euros. According to information from the Ministry of Labor, about 670,000 euros have been paid. The reply further states: „Currently, enforcement of these refund notices is not taking place.“ The Ministry had referred in an internal correspondence previously to pending legal clarifications.
„Refugee citizens“ are people who have committed themselves to the immigration office to cover the cost of living for a refugee. These commitments helped thousands of people receive visas for Germany in 2015 and 2016. The exact number of „refugee citizens“ is not publicly known. For this reason, Springer accused the Home Office responsible for the visa file in the Foreigners Central Register of „lack of transparency“.
Refugee citizens are asked to pay
According to the Ministry of Employment, state agencies in Lower Saxony demand around 7.2 million euros from people who had made commitments. In North Rhine-Westphalia there are just under 5.7 million euros, in Brandenburg only about 57,000 euros.
However, in its reply, the ministry pointed out that these are only expenditures required by the Joint Institutions of the Federal Employment Agency and the municipal institution. This does not include the amounts of the 105 municipal agencies, which take care of the basic security benefits on their own responsibility.
