For non-EU foreigners: child benefit regulation was unconstitutional

A number of non-EU foreigners have wrongly not received child benefit in Germany for years. According to the Federal Constitutional Court, a regulation that required a job was not legal.

The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe has declared an earlier regulation on the entitlement to child benefit for foreigners who do not come from the European Union to be unconstitutional. According to the court, it violates the principle of equality if foreigners with a right to stay on humanitarian grounds only receive child benefits if they are integrated into the labor market.

The corresponding regulation was in force from 2006, but was already changed in 2020. The new version no longer provides for this requirement.

Job not a requirement for child benefit

The Lower Saxony finance court in Hanover dealt with several lawsuits from foreigners and referred the issue to the constitutional court. According to the regulation at the time, people who lived here for reasons of international law, humanitarian or political reasons were only entitled to child benefit after they had stayed for at least three years. In addition, the entitlement was dependent on integration into the labor market. This point was not justified according to the judges’ decision.

In 2012, the Karlsruhe judges had already overturned an identically worded regulation on child-raising and later parental allowance. The current case has been pending since 2014. In 2020, the legislature then changed the regulation on child benefit.