CDU leader Merz is urging Chancellor Scholz to take action on the issue of migration and was irritating with statements about dental treatment for rejected asylum seekers. Now he has a new suggestion.
According to CDU leader Friedrich Merz, health care for rejected asylum seekers should only be expanded much later than currently. In an interview with the editorial network Germany, Merz pointed out that, according to the Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Act, those required to leave the country are entitled to extended benefits after 18 months. “This period should be extended to at least three years,” demanded the CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader in the Bundestag.
“We must not give any incentives to stay if there is no right to stay in Germany,” argued Merz. “The message to the 300,000 rejected asylum seekers is currently: You just have to stay long enough and things will get better for you in Germany. We have to correct that,” warned the CDU chairman.
More than 300,000 Persons obliged to leave the country
According to the Central Register of Foreigners, around 304,000 people were required to leave the country at the end of 2022, around 248,000 of whom had a toleration permit. Tolerated people are people who are obliged to leave the country but cannot be deported for certain reasons. This could be because they do not have any identification documents, are sick or have a minor child who has a residence permit.
Currently, foreigners who are required to leave the country and tolerated migrants only have a limited right to health care during the first 18 months of their stay; they are not legally insured during this time. After the so-called waiting period, they are looked after by the statutory health insurance companies and receive almost the same benefits as those with statutory health insurance.
FDP is pushing for prepaid payment cards for refugees
The FDP is now pushing to reduce cash payments to refugees. The FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr told the “Bild” newspaper that he expects the federal states to clear the way for prepaid payment cards by the next Prime Minister’s Conference on November 6th. “Irregular migration must be reduced and cash payments must be stopped quickly,” he argued.
Union politicians like Markus Söder (CSU) have repeatedly announced a switch to benefits in kind and chip cards. “But when it came down to it, it was ‘business as usual’. We can no longer afford that,” said Dürr.
District council wants a quick switch to benefits in kind for refugees
The President of the German District Council, Reinhard Sager (CDU), told the newspaper that Germany urgently needs to take a look at the attractiveness of social benefits compared to other EU countries. “We are in favor of increasing the use of benefits in kind instead of cash benefits, even if the administrative burden is higher,” he said.
While the Union and FDP have long been calling for the replacement of cash benefits with benefits in kind, the Greens, among others, are critical. They point to the administrative burden and doubt that cash payments will lead to more people seeking their way to Germany.