Last year, immigration authorities in Germany’s larger neighbor received 221,775 asylum applications. A lot, even though the country has ten times as many inhabitants and an area several times larger than Austria. Now every day the German media are full of warnings and provocative letters from town halls: “We can’t do this anymore, too much has been reached.”
The reasons for the neighbourhood’s strong attraction to refugees – at least the political opposition and many experts agree – are clear: once they arrive, migrants are looked after as if they had always been in the system. Have been. The term “social swing” has long become a household word.
But what about us? According to official Eurostat figures, there were 109,000 asylum applications last year. With respect: it is half that of the much larger Germany. For comparison: even giant France had “only” 137,605 applications, Italy 77,200. And now the next wave is arriving from Lampedusa – in a few days the first migrants from southern Italy will be in Austria and Germany.
The real refugee magnet within the EU, measured in terms of population, is Austria. And this can also be explained by the social system between Lake Constance and Lake Neusiedl, despite regional differences. Every asylum seeker in Austria is entitled to basic services while the recognition process is pending. This may take time and even then the recognized refugee will not be able to stand on his feet immediately. People entitled to asylum will continue to receive guaranteed basic supplies for four months.
The paradox: Migrants who are not identified but cannot be deported for legal reasons are even more likely to be caught. Like the Syrians and Afghans in the current situation. They can last forever in basic care. You get free meals (3 meals per day) and accommodation. There is also a small amount of pocket money: 40 euros.
The following applies to migrants living in private rented accommodation: each adult person receives 165 euros, a family up to 330 euros. The food allowance is 260 euros per month per adult, minors receive 145 euros.
Health insurance is free, and there is a subsidy of up to 150 euros per year for clothing. Children’s school needs are covered up to 200 euros, and travel costs to school are reimbursed in full.
The state pays 60 percent of the cost, with the rest covered by the federal government — that means all of us.
And of course this also spreads around: especially in Vienna, migrants with rejected (!) asylum applications also receive the minimum income (1054 euros per month) for several years. Some people collect twice: The Court of Auditors confirmed in 2017 that minimum income earners often do not need to show any ID to be able to collect money.
