The payment card for refugees is now part of asylum law. On Friday, 12. 04.2024, the Bundestag (German Lower Parliament House) decided on the possibility of issuing chip cards instead of cash. In the future, asylum seekers will be able to use this card to cover their monthly personal needs. The payment card would be used to pay for goods and services in everyday life, as well as groceries in the supermarket or a visit to the hairdresser or a ticket from a machine.
The Parliament has decided on a Germany-wide uniform legal basis for a payment card for refugees and asylum seekers. The majority of coalition MPs voted for the traffic light law.
The Asylum Act now stipulates that in the future the federal states will be able to receive part of the state benefits as credit instead of spending it as cash if they want.
The refugees or asylum seekers will be able to use this card until they get a work visa or residence permit.
What is a German Payment Card for Refugees and Asylum Seekers?
In Germany, Asylum seekers should be able to use the payment card to make cashless purchases in the future, just like with an EC card. They should receive at least part of their benefits as payment credit. The card should work without an account connection. Each province decides for itself how much benefits will be paid out in the form of cash. Possible additional functions of the card are also a matter for the state. In addition, the use of the card should be able to be restricted regionally in individual provinces. The technical processing, however, should be regulated uniformly nationwide.
When exactly will the payment card come?
14 of the 16 German federal states have agreed on a uniform approach and have therefore pushed for a Bundestag resolution. There is currently no specific date for the introduction of a nationwide system. It is expected to start in 2025. The corresponding tender for a service provider begins on January 31, 2024. Bavaria and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania each want to go their own way. Legally and technically, municipalities and states can already issue their payment cards to asylum seekers, and some cities and municipalities are already doing this.
Are transfers abroad possible?
That is not possible. The aim is to prevent refugees from sending money from Germany to relatives and friends in their countries of origin or in EU or Schengen countries. This should also remove the incentive to flee to Germany for financial reasons and the ability to pay for smugglers. It should only be possible to pay with a card in Germany. Card-to-card transfers and other transfers at home and abroad are also not provided.
Can you withdraw cash with the card?
This is generally possible – but only up to a maximum amount. Theoretically, each municipality can decide for itself how high this amount should be and how often it can be withdrawn. Whether there should be a uniform regulation among the 14 provinces is still being discussed.
Where is the payment card already used?
Some districts in Germany have already introduced a payment card model. Hanover, for example, works with the so-called Social Card – here the city transfers its social benefits to the card every month. This is based on a conventional Visa debit card and has virtually no restrictions. The first pilot projects will be launched in Bavaria in the spring.
Meanwhile, the Wartburg district in Thuringia will be introducing a payment card for refugees in just a few weeks. The first 100 cards will be issued from March 1st. They should then only be able to be used within the district – wherever credit cards are accepted.
Future Benefits of this Card
The law is also intended to improve the digital data exchange between immigration authorities and the “benefits authorities” responsible for ensuring the minimum subsistence level. At the same time, the authorities should be relieved of the burden of “the numerous standard manual queries” through data transmission via the Central Register of Foreigners (AZR) that is as automated as possible and at the same time prevent any misuse of services, as the federal government explains in its justification. According to this, the law also makes it possible to fulfill the obligation under the EU “Migration Statistics Regulation” to record the receipt of benefits by refugees.
What other Asylum Laws have been implemented by the German Government in recent past?
Chancen-Aufenthaltsrecht (18 Months Residence Permit Card)
Germany started giving 18 months’ residence permit to asylum seekers last year. In December 2022, the new right of residence came into force. With this, tolerated persons (ones having Duldung status) who have been in Germany for 5 years without interruption on October 31, 2022, will be granted the new “probationary residence permit” (in German it is called Chancen-Aufenthaltsrecht).
In November 2023, German Government also decided to give more jobs to asylum seekers. It has been working on integrating asylum seekers into the job market. To continue the success process further, the federal government, together with companies, unions, and municipalities, wants to increasingly bring refugees into work. This results from a labor market summit to which Federal Labor Minister Heil and the new Commissioner for Labor Market Integration for Refugees, Terzenbach, invited.
Work Permission to newly arrived asylum seekers
New asylum seekers will be able to work in Germany in a time after six months of their arrival in the country. The German government has introduced a new draft law (in Novermber 2023) allowing asylum seekers quicker access to the labor market. This law would be docked into an ongoing legislative process in the Bundestag (lower house). The federal government hopes that this will result in higher employment for asylum seekers.
German government passes a new law for Asylum Seekers to better tackle deportations, repatriation, and settlement issues in the countries. Managing the increasing migrant numbers, the Repatriation Improvement Act came into force on February 27, after the upper house of parliament passed the bill – with amendments. The Act was published in the Federal Law Gazette on February 26, 2024 (BGBl. 2024 I No. 54 of February 26, 2024).