Migration Costs Weigh Heavily On German Taxpayers

If Berlin continues to admit migrants, it will create an even bigger hole in the economy.

14 December 2023, Brandenburg, Eisenhüttenstadt: Migrants walk across the grounds of the Central Reception Center for Asylum Seekers (ZABH) of the state of Brandenburg in Eisenhüttenstadt. Photo: Patrick Pleul/dpa (Photo by PATRICK PLEUL / DPA / dpa Picture-Alliance via AFP) Fotó: AFP

According to the expert, this sustainability gap will grow to €19.2 trillion if Germany continues to admit 300,000 immigrants a year. Even if the permissive migration policy were to be halted now, the gap would still amount to €13.4 trillion. This means that if the German government continues to let migrants into the country en masse, it will cost taxpayers €5.8 trillion in the long term.

This is how much immigration costs to our current system,"

 – the professor emphasized.

It now appears that migrants need at least six years to enter the German labor market, during which time they hardly pay anything into the social security system. But the situation hardly improves, even after that.

Due to their lack of qualifications, they make significantly less than Germans and they also pay less taxes and social contributions. However, they receive the same sickness, nursing and pension benefits.

Mr Raffelhuschen offered an example to illustrate the problem that the federal government made up of Social Democrats, Greens and Liberals refuses to see. An asylum seeker arrives in Germany at the age of 26. He gets refused after two or three years, but can remain in the country with "tolerated" status. Then, in a good case, he or she will get a qualification and be able to work - if he or she wants to - at the age of 35. When he retires, he will still receive his pension benefits, even though he only paid a fraction of these costs in taxes during his career. And the difference will be shouldered by other taxpayers.

If we go on like this, we'll be as stupid as a rock,

 – the professor remarked.

The German government has earmarked nearly 50 billion euros for migration in this year's budget, excluding any additional or extra costs incurred, to be borne by the social security system. According to current calculations, even if one hundred thousand skilled immigrants arrived per year, Germany would still be "posting a loss" in the coming years. 

Cover photo: Migrants in Brandenburg (Photo: DPA/dpa Picture-Alliance via AFP/Patrick Pleul)