The issue of a possible reduction in social assistance for Ukrainian refugees in Germany is causing considerable anxiety among those who were forced to leave Ukraine due to the war and are looking for safety and stability in Europe. Amidst announcements of legislative initiatives, rule changes and the potential move to a tougher payout regime, more and more people are asking what exactly will change, when it will happen, and how it will affect everyday life. The Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of Germany reported that until the adoption of the new law, Ukrainian refugees will receive assistance in accordance with current regulations. Such a respond the department provided at the request of the German publication Der Mitteldeutsche Rundfunk.
Federal government plans
The federal government’s plans to move from a civil assistance system to a payment regime under the Asylum Seeker Assistance Act are currently on hold. The BMAS explained that the implementation of such an initiative requires the introduction of changes to several regulatory acts at once, in particular to books X, II, XII of the Social Code and the AsylbLG law. Until the relevant law is adopted, all refugees from Ukraine will receive support in accordance with the current legislation.
It is about a change in legal jurisdiction: Ukrainians will no longer be subject to the SGB II (i.e., the civil assistance system), but will fall under the scope of the AsylbLG law — that is, the payment regime provided for persons who have applied for asylum. However, currently there is neither a final draft law nor a timetable for its consideration. The Ministry of Social Policy, Health and Equality of the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt said that until now there had been no coordinated work between the federal government, state governments and local governments.
The reform, which involves changing the mechanisms of payments, is part of the package of emergency measures of the government coalition. According to BMAS, implementation began with the arrival of the new federal government in May 2025. It is accompanied by significant bureaucratic difficulties. Coordination between different ministries and levels of government, as well as a change in the funding model, are needed to trigger change. There is a risk of duplication of management structures due to differences in approaches to “old” and “new” refugees.
It is not yet known when the relevant bill will be submitted to the Bundestag and Bundesrat. In addition, the idea of setting a retroactive effective date of April 1, 2025 raises additional questions. The Social Ministry of Saxony-Anhalt is critical of this retroactive option. If newly arrived Ukrainians receive civil assistance until the moment when the law enters into force, it will contradict the very intention of the reform: the right to support will be preserved for 6-12 months, although legally it will already be a different category of assistance.
The ministry emphasized that if the state wants to limit the access of new Ukrainian refugees to SGB II, it should be done not retroactively, but only after the changes come into force — and only on the basis of the adopted law.
The government has already been informed of these reservations. In addition, as explained in Magdeburg, the transfer of Ukrainians to the AsylbLG system will negatively affect integration processes, in particular, employment. In case of transfer to another legal jurisdiction, the link between social support and integration policy will be destroyed.
The threat of parallel structures
Another problem is the change of powers. Jobcentres, and thus the federal government, are currently responsible for providing assistance to citizens, while in the case of AsylbLG payments, the responsibility lies with local authorities. There are six municipal employment centers in Saxony-Anhalt, as well as joint centers under both the municipalities and the Federal Employment Agency.
Funding for benefits is distributed: standard assistance, integration funds and part of housing costs are covered by the federal government; municipalities pay part of housing and administrative costs.
According to the coalition agreement between the CDU/CSU and the SPD, after April 1, 2025, the responsibility for payments to refugees from Ukraine will be placed on the municipal asylum-seeker services. This, the ministry warns, actually means the creation of a parallel infrastructure and will require significant personnel expansion in local authorities.
The difference between the two forms of aid
The transition to the AsylbLG regime will mean a reduction in benefits of an average of 100 euros for an adult and 60-80 euros for a child or teenager. In addition, if nowadays the civil assistance is paid entirely in money, according to the AsylbLG, part of the payments are made in the form of goods, coupons or cards with limited functionality.
The federal government motivates the reform by the need to reduce budget costs and create incentives for employment. It is also about the desire to equalize the legal position of Ukrainians with refugees from other countries.
Issues of health insurance, housing and integration
The Social Ministry of Saxony-Anhalt currently has no data on how exactly the transition to the new law will affect health insurance, employment support and the possibility of participating in language courses.
Under SGB II, citizens are covered by the state health insurance system. In the case of AsylbLG, treatment costs are covered by the responsible authority, and only at a basic level.
Under SGB II, there is an obligation to participate in all employment events. There is no such obligation in the AsylbLG system. Participation in language and professional courses may be provided, but is not mandatory at the discretion of the authorities. Also, AsylbLG does not provide any employment counseling.
In addition, civil assistance guarantees the costs of rent and heating as part of basic needs. In the AsylbLG system, refugees first live in dormitories for up to 18 months, and subsequently, after resettlement, rental financing conditions are set separately.
However, since Ukrainians have the right to residence within the framework of the European Directive on temporary protection, new arrivals are not required to stay in initial reception centers.
How many Ukrainian refugees are in Germany?
About 1.26 million Ukrainians with temporary protection are currently registered in Germany. In the first months of the year, the number of new arrivals was several thousand per month, but in April they were recorded at less than 2,000.
In Saxony, as of June 2025, about 30 new arrivals from Ukraine are recorded every week — approximately 120 per month. For comparison: in 2024, more than 10 thousand arrived.
As of June 16, 2025, 1,453 new refugees from Ukraine were registered in Saxony-Anhalt.
By the end of April 2025, 1,369 newly arrived Ukrainians are registered in Thuringia, that is, about 340 every month.
Political discussion
The Left faction in the Bundestag accuses the government coalition of making symbolic and discriminatory decisions under the pressure of AdN. Klara Bünger, a representative of the faction on domestic policy, said that the party would vote against. She pointed out that the restrictions apply not only to money, but also to access to medical care. In her opinion, the AsylbLG law is inherently discriminatory and should be repealed.
Greens consider the initiative counterproductive for integration policy. They also see in the plan an overlap with Russian propaganda, which tries to discredit Ukrainian refugees as “welfare tourists.” The Greens indicate that the reform will be accompanied by additional costs for municipalities, and not relief, as it is declared. Ukrainian women who survived the war and now have to overcome bureaucratic barriers will be especially affected.
The “Alternative for Germany” faction welcomes the intention to transfer Ukrainians to the AsylbLG system. However, the party demands that the changes apply not only to new arrivals, but to all recipients of aid from Ukraine. According to them, the reduction of payments stimulates employment, and the administrative burden is justified. At the same time, they criticize the government project for its limitations — they say that it does not cover the majority of the 700,000 Ukrainians who are already in the support system.
