Social
Child benefit payments abroad increased again
At the end of last year, child benefit was paid to around 313,000 children abroad. photo
© Hannes Albert/dpa
Child benefit payments for children living abroad have been increasing for years – including last year. Most of these children live in Poland. There is a clear reason for this.
Last year it was 525.7 million euros Child benefit was transferred abroad – again more than in the previous year. In 2022 there were still 465.3 million, as can be seen from answers from the Federal Ministry of Finance to the AfD MP René Springer, which are available to the dpa in Berlin.
At the end of last year, child benefit was paid to around 313,000 children abroad, including 307,000 children in EU countries such as Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic, Croatia and France. With 171,000 children, most of them live in Poland. Child benefit increased to 250 euros per month and child in 2023. At the end of last year, a total of 17.6 million children received child benefit.
In the previous year, the family fund had only transferred child benefit for around 324,000 children living abroad. Up to and including 2018, the number was still under 300,000. In 2015 there were only 158,000 children.
Requirements for child benefit abroad
Germans residing abroad are entitled to German child benefit if they are subject to taxation in Germany or are employed subject to social security contributions.
Foreign nationals who live in Germany can receive child benefit if they have citizenship of an EU country or another country with corresponding agreements, such as Turkey, Serbia or Morocco. There are also other requirements – such as employment subject to social security contributions or involuntary unemployment. Recognized refugees and those entitled to asylum also receive child benefit.
More EU citizens with German jobs
The increase in child benefit payments for children living abroad is primarily due to the fact that more EU citizens have found jobs in Germany in recent years. According to the Federal Statistical Office, around 1.65 million people from EU countries came to work in Germany in 2021 – 19 percent more than in 2017. The most common country of origin was Poland, with 23 percent of immigrant workers. 71 percent of workers who immigrated from the EU already had a permanent job offer when they came to Germany. The background is the shortage of skilled workers and workers in many industries.
In individual cases, fraud had also occurred in child benefit applications, for example with fake birth certificates. The family funds countered this with more detailed checks. “A lot has been done in Germany to detect fraud in child benefit payments to other EU countries more quickly and thus prevent unlawful payments,” according to a fact check by the CDU/CSU parliamentary group. “When submitting an application, the child’s identification number is required so that the family fund that pays out child benefit can check whether child benefit is already being paid for this child somewhere else,” she emphasized, referring to the tax ID.
Demand for reduction to local level
AfD MP Springer criticized child benefit payments abroad. In some places the federal government is just throwing taxpayer money around. “We are calling on the federal government to finally reduce child benefit to the local cost of living,” he said. “This creates justice and relieves the burden on taxpayers.” The EU Commission had objected to such demands, saying that this would probably violate EU law. According to critics of the requirement, the bureaucratic effort would also be significant, as an index for the cost of living would have to be developed and updated for each affected country.