For now, Ukrainians with protection under Section 24 of the Residence Act receive Bürgergeld, now also called Grundsicherung, from the Jobcenter if they cannot support themselves. Whether that stays true for everyone has been unclear for a year. The “Rechtskreiswechsel”, a switch to the lower asylum-seeker benefit system, is in the coalition agreement but stuck in the legislative process. We checked government, Bundestag and press sources and found no decision that brings it into force (as of 5 November 2026).
The cabinet approved the draft on 19 November 2025 (Leistungsrechtsanpassungsgesetz, Bundestag paper 21/3539). Anyone who entered Germany after 1 April 2025 would receive benefits under the Asylbewerberleistungsgesetz instead of Bürgergeld. People who arrived earlier keep their entitlement. According to the federal government, the BAMF and the immigration offices would again be responsible instead of the Jobcenters.
How big is the difference?
At the Bundestag hearing on 23 February 2026, Moritz Marbach of University College London calculated that a single adult outside shared accommodation would get €455 instead of €563 a month, roughly 20 per cent less. The German Caritas association warned of poorer health and care provision and called it a “structural change of system with considerable consequences for integration”. Those able to work would have to show they are looking for a job, and refusal can lead to an assigned work opportunity (Arbeitsgelegenheit).
People already receiving benefits would not switch at once under the draft. Their current approval period runs out, and the switch happens at the latest three months after the law takes effect. The government ruled out retroactive offsetting between authorities in a March reply to a Greens inquiry.
Why is the bill stuck?
Money. The federal government mainly pays Bürgergeld, while the Länder and municipalities bear asylum-seeker benefits. The draft assumed about 12,000 new arrivals a month; according to taz, 182,613 actually came by the end of January 2026, more than 18,000 a month. The Länder rejected a federal offer on cost relief in February (Table.Briefings, 29 March). Bremen’s mayor Andreas Bovenschulte (SPD) said the pledge covered only a few years.
The savings are doubtful too. The labour ministry’s draft put 2026 savings at about €1.32 billion but extra costs for the Länder and municipalities at about €1.375 billion; for 2027 it was €376 million against €394 million (ZDFheute, August 2025). Net, no gain. The Greens expect at least €77 million in additional spending.
Our assessment, with low to medium confidence: the likeliest outcome is a compromise with permanent cost compensation. The Federal Employment Agency’s proposal to cover only people who receive a residence permit or a Fiktionsbescheinigung after the law takes effect would ease the administrative load and be politically easier. No date is in sight.
What affected people can check now
Nothing changes automatically until a law is in force. It still makes sense to get your papers in order: document your entry and registration date (stamp, first Fiktionsbescheinigung, first Section 24 permit), look up the end of your approval period in the Jobcenter notice, keep every letter and report changes in income or address immediately. A faulty decision can be challenged within one month (Widerspruch). Free advice is available from the Migrationsberatung für erwachsene Zugewanderte (MBE), Caritas, Diakonie and AWO; BAMF-NAVI lists offices nearby.
Earlier coverage: integration courses reopen for Ukrainians.
Sources: Bundesregierung, Bundestag, Bundestag (hib), taz, ZDFheute, Table.Briefings
