Hungarian dual nationals illegally receive social benefits in Germany as Ukrainian refugees

Several persons with dual Hungarian-Ukrainian citizenship have applied for protection and social benefits as Ukrainian refugees in Germany. According to newspaper reports, some of them do not speak Ukrainian at all. Germany also offers Ukrainian refugees an exceptional procedure and a social benefit called Bürgergeld. However, EU citizens, including dual nationals, are not eligible for these benefits.

The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) has investigated thousands of cases in which people with Ukrainian passports may have received social benefits in Germany without authorisation, German newspaper Der Spiegel reports.

Social benefits without authorisation in Germany

The investigation is based on reports from the provincial immigration offices. These show that people with recently issued Ukrainian passports, who only speak Hungarian and may have dual citizenship, have applied for social benefits as Ukrainian refugees, raising questions about their origin.

In response to an inquiry by rtl.hu, BAMF spokesperson Christoph Sander confirmed that a procedure has been launched to clarify the doubts about the citizenship of the Ukrainian-Hungarian applicants for temporary protection.

In the framework of this procedure, a total of 5,609 suspicious cases have been reported from the provinces until 19 February this year.

Ukrainians are receiving temporary protection and social benefits because of Russia’s war on Ukraine. They do not have to go through asylum procedures and are entitled to a citizenship grant under German social welfare law, known as Bürgergeld, which is available to people on low incomes. Last year, this amounted to EUR 502 for a single person. Hungarian dual nationals, being EU citizens, do not receive these benefits directly.

Only people with Ukrainian-Hungarian ties are concerned

A special procedure to clarify doubts about the nationality of applicants for temporary protection is currently only carried out for persons with Ukrainian-Hungarian ties,

Christoph Sander told rtl.hu. BAMF coordinates the citizenship checks by liaising with the Ukrainian and Hungarian authorities. According to their spokesperson, 1,258 people have been verified as Ukrainian citizens and 208 people have been found to have Hungarian citizenship. This is important because if you are also a Hungarian national, you cannot get a residence permit on the basis of temporary protection, as this benefit does not apply to EU nationals.

The results of the checks will be passed on to the provincial authorities, who will decide how to deal with these cases and whether there will be any consequences in terms of residence permits.

The authorities in Baden-Württemberg had previously discovered that many of the people concerned had obtained their passports in Berehove (Beregszász), Transcarpathia, a settlement with a significant Hungarian population.

The German Merkur quoted reports in the Schwäbische Zeitung confirming that in Baden-Württemberg, Hungarians and Romanians, mostly from Transcarpathia, have been found to be dual citizens and do not speak Ukrainian. Merkur points out that it is not yet possible to know exactly how many of the suspected cases of fraud will be confirmed.

Read also:

• The shocking reason behind companies choosing guest workers over Hungarian labour
• Hungarian CEOs’ surprising experiences with foreign workers

Featured image: depositphotos.com