The Cost of Migrants, By Richard Miller (Londonistan)

For the first time, Berlin's Senate has received a detailed breakdown of asylum costs, shedding light on the financial burden foreigners place on Germany's capital. Last year, the city spent at least €2.1 billion—5 percent of its entire budget—according to a report prepared by the Senate Administration for the Main Committee of the House of Representatives. While Remix News has previously highlighted specific expenses like asylum housing, this report offers a more comprehensive view, consolidating costs that include accommodation, welfare, and education. Yet, it admits its limits, noting that "the amount of expenditures lost in the area of refugee migration can only be estimated approximately, since many expenditure areas also, but not exclusively, benefit refugees." The true cost, it seems, is even higher than the figures suggest.

In Berlin, accommodation tops the list at nearly €1 billion annually, with €250 million dedicated to housing unaccompanied minors—1,700 new arrivals under 18 in 2024 alone. Social welfare follows at €618 million, covering child benefits and citizen's income, the German term for welfare payments, set at €441 per month for individual asylum seekers and €397 per person for couples. Integration and education add €262 million, including €121 million for "welcome classes" to school-age migrants. These numbers exclude Ukrainian asylum seekers, who aren't legally classified as such, potentially adding hundreds of millions more. Beyond these direct costs, the report omits broader impacts: an influx of foreigners has driven up housing prices, strained healthcare, and spiked serious crime, with foreigners linked to 43.8 percent of offenses in 2024. To fund this, Berlin has cut teacher payments and other budgets, turning to a new debt deal between the Christian Democrats (CDU) and Social Democrats (SPD). This allows the city to borrow hundreds of millions more annually—an "emergency loan for refugee costs," as Economics Senator Franziska Giffey (SPD) put it—planning the 2026/27 budget with further loans in mind.

Berlin's experience reflects Germany's national challenge. In 2021, the country spent €22 billion on asylum and integration, rising to €29.7 billion by 2023, with 2025 projections suggesting costs could hit €35-40 billion as applications exceed 300,000 yearly. Housing remains a massive expense, likely billions beyond Berlin's €1 billion, while welfare adjustments—like reducing single asylum seekers' payments from €460 to €441 monthly—aim to trim costs but still tally in the €5-10 billion range. Integration, including language courses and job training, adds another €5 billion nationally, mirroring Berlin's €262 million on a larger scale. Healthcare, though unquantified in Berlin's €2.1 billion, likely runs into millions locally and billions nationwide, as asylum seekers access limited care initially then statutory insurance after 18 months. Crime costs—police, courts, prisons—remain untracked but are significant, given patterns like Berlin's 43.8 percent foreign-linked offenses. To cope, states demand €1,000 monthly per asylum seeker from the federal government, far above current aid, pushing Germany toward €26.65 billion in earmarked funds in 2023 and rising debt in 2025.

Europe faces a parallel burden. The EU's Asylum, Migration, and Integration Fund (AMIF) allocates €9.9 billion from 2021-2027, with Germany receiving €1.5 billion, but costs soar beyond this. Spain's Canary Islands, with 47,000 arrivals in 2024, and Italy's state-funded centres reflect housing expenses akin to Berlin's €1 billion, likely totalling billions bloc-wide. Welfare varies—Germany's €441 monthly contrasts with the Czech Republic's €13.29 or France's €343.50 during asylum review—yet Germany's generosity, starting at €150-€367 monthly, may draw more migrants, inflating its share. Integration and education, bolstered by AMIF and ESF+ (€2.3 billion for Germany), cost billions across 3.5 million protected migrants in Germany alone, with France and Sweden following suit. Healthcare, often free or subsidised, adds hundreds of millions—unseen in Berlin's tally but evident Europe-wide. Crime, as in Sweden where migrant unemployment doubles the norm, or Berlin's 43.8 percent, suggests billions in unitemised costs. Southern states like Greece and Italy lean on EU solidarity, while northern nations like Germany borrow, potentially adding €10-20 billion in debt by 2025, with total European costs for 1-2 million arrivals hitting €60-80 billion.

Critically, these figures understate the full picture. Berlin's report concedes gaps—housing inflation, healthcare strain, wage suppression—suggesting local costs could be €2.5-€3 billion, and Germany's €30-40 billion might climb 20-50 percent higher. Europe's indirect impacts could push its €60-80 billion to €100 billion annually. Policy trade-offs compound the issue: Germany's welfare cuts and Berlin's budget slashes risk social cohesion—evidenced by AfD's polling gains—while stricter measures like deportations falter over safe-country disputes. Economically, migrants could offset labour shortages (19 percent of Germany's population is foreign), but high unemployment—double the norm in Sweden and Berlin—delays returns. Berlin's €2.1 billion dwarfs new arrivals' tax contributions, highlighting a short-term loss against uncertain long-term gains.

By 2025, Germany's €35-40 billion could break down to €10-15 billion for housing, €5-10 billion for welfare, and €5 billion for integration, with Berlin's debt model spreading. Europe's €60-80 billion, driven by Germany, France, and Sweden, reflects AMIF offsets but not the full strain. The data reveals a system stretched thin—Germany and Europe bear immediate costs in housing, welfare, and debt, with crime and healthcare lurking beneath, testing the balance between humanitarian ideals and fiscal limits. Berlin's €2.1 billion, just 5 percent of its budget, is a microcosm of a continent grappling with the price of openness in a world of migration madness.

https://www.amren.com/news/2025/03/new-data-reveal-shocking-cost-of-migrants-for-berlin-taxpayers/

"For the first time, the city of Berlin's Senate has received a detailed breakdown of all asylum costs in the city, revealing the high costs of foreigners for Germany's capital city.

Last year, the city spent at least €2.1 billion, which equals 5 percent of the entire budget, reads a report prepared by the Senate Administration for the Main Committee of the House of Representatives.

As Remix News has previously reported, details on spending on migrants have been released before, such as the cost of asylum housing; however, this report is more detailed and includes other costs as well, all in one place.

Nevertheless, the report mentions that it does not truly capture all the costs associated with Berlin's foreign population.

"The amount of expenditures lost in the area of refugee migration can only be estimated approximately, since many expenditure areas also, but not exclusively, benefit refugees," reads the document.

The largest cost is accommodation, which amounts to nearly €1 billion per year. Young asylum seekers are especially expensive, with Berlin paying out €250 million to accommodate unaccompanied minors in 2024. In the same year, the capital received 1,700 new arrivals under the age of 18.

The second-largest cost is related to social welfare benefits, coming in at €618 million, which includes child benefits and citizen allowance benefits, which is the term for German welfare payments.

Ukrainian asylum seekers are also not factored into these costs, which could be adding hundreds of millions more, because they are not legally considered asylum seekers.

Asylum seekers receive different sums of money depending on their situation, with individual asylum seekers receiving €441 per month for personal needs, while couples receive €397 per person.

Taxpayers are also on the hook for integration courses and education, which costs €262 million a year. Of that sum, the largest cost is "welcome classes" for school-age migrants, which amounted to €121 million.

However, other costs are not accounted for in these figures. For one, an influx of foreigners, at least in the numbers Berlin has seen in recent years, has driven up the cost of housing, led to increased burdens on the healthcare system, and has sharply driven up serious crimes. In fact, the latest statistics show that foreigners are responsible for 43.8 percent of all crimes in 2024.

Berlin has responded to this funding crisis by cutting back on payments to teachers and cutting the budget in other areas in order to pay for these newcomers.

Now, with a new debt deal struck between the Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Social Democrats (SPD), Berlin and other German states are receiving a reprieve, which will allow them to take on new debt to pay for migrants. As Remix News reported, Berlin is going to take out hundreds of millions more in debt every year to pay for its ballooning asylum population.

Economics Senator Franziska Giffey (SPD) announced Berlin will take out an "emergency loan for refugee costs."

"We are planning our state budget for 2026/27 under the assumption that we will be able to access further loans," she said.