Germans back welfare constraints for immigrants, huge survey finds - while UK universal credit payments to asylum seekers have more than doubled in the last four years

Published: 20:06, 27 April 2026 | Updated: 20:06, 27 April 2026 Two thirds of Germans say immigrants should only receive benefits if they have worked in the country for an extended period of time, a survey has found. A majority also supported a wealth levy and higher inheritance tax, according to the survey by Deutschlandtrend for public broadcaster WDR. It comes as the Daily Mail reported in February that £15billion in benefits had been given to the UK's migrant households in just 18 months. And the number of migrants and refugees claiming universal credit has more than doubled since 2022 despite pledges of a crackdown by ministers. In the German survey four out of five voters said wealth was distributed unfairly in their country, with many saying middle and low earners paid too much tax. In Germany the ruling 'grand coalition' of the major centre-right and -left parties is locked in protracted talks for a major package of reforms aimed at reviving the country's sluggish economy. Those parties have been squeezed by the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD), which has extended its lead in national polls. There are a number of difficult economic decisions ahead for the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its coalition partner, the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), as Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government slashed its growth forecast for this year by half - to 0.5 per cent - in the wake of the US-led war in Iran. Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz has seen his country's economic growth forecast for this year slashed by half to 0.5 per cent amid difficult negotiations over policy with his party's coalition partner, the centre-left SPD In Britain Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has seen campaigners threaten to challenge her immigration reforms in the courts Lars Klingbeil, Germany's SPD vice-chancellor and finance minister, has advocated shifting the tax burden to richer citizens and cutting inheritance tax exemptions while making more public borrowing possible. Mr Merz's party prefers broader tax cuts, austerity and private sector deregulation, arguing the welfare system, which costs 31 per cent of GDP, is unsustainable. German Green party voters were most likely to back a higher inheritance tax, with 88 per cent of those surveyed in support - some 78 per cent of SPD supporters were in favour. Among CDU voters support for the measures fell to 64 per cent but was still higher than the overall average of 61 per cent. AfD voters strongly opposed the idea of a wealth tax, with 62 per cent against compared to 33 per cent in favour. On immigration, 66 per cent of voters thought migrants should only be able to access benefits after working in Germany for a 'fairly long time', a position advocated by the AfD and implemented partially in Denmark. Since 2021 some migrants in the Scandinavian country have been required to work 37 hours a week to receive benefits. The restrictions were placed on welfare recipients who had received benefits for three to four years and had not achieved a certain level of proficiency in Danish. At the time prime minister Mette Frederiksen said the rules were directly aimed at women from 'non-Western backgrounds' living on benefits. In February research shared exclusively with the Daily Mail showed 70 per cent of the billions handed to migrant homes in the previous 18 months went to households containing at least one unemployed foreign national. At the time Robert Bates, research director at the Centre for Migration Control, said: 'It is a no-brainer that we should be ending benefit payments to foreign nationals, especially those who are unemployed. 'The British taxpayer does not exist to fund the lifestyle of migrants.' Separate figures revealed that the number of migrants and refugees claiming universal credit has more than doubled since 2022. Germany's vice-chancellor and finance minister Lars Klingbeil, who is also SPD leader, has favoured cutting inheritance tax exemptions and the reintroduction of a wealth tax Alice Weidel, co-leader of the far-right AfD, which has advocated stricter rules on migrants' access to welfare payments A total of 124,833 claimants with refugee status were receiving the payments – which average just over £1,000 a month – according to latest Government figures from last October. That was on top of another 53,240 people classed as unable to be returned to their home countries because they alleged they would suffer human rights abuses. In comparison, when the data was first collected in April 2022, there were 64,423 refugees and 3,221 people with humanitarian status receiving the benefit. The number of refugees with indefinite leave to remain – a status which can be claimed after five years – soared from 95,612 to 218,944 in the same period. Meanwhile those given limited leave to remain – to live, work or study for six months to five years – also rose, from 68,883 to 76,898. According to the Department for Work and Pensions data, three-quarters of refugees and two-thirds with leave to remain were not in work, along with 60 per cent of those with humanitarian status. Last month Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood's plans to make migrants wait longer for the right to live in Britain indefinitely suffered a blow as campaigners prepared to launch a legal challenge. Ms Mahmood's reforms, which have yet to be announced in detail, will face immediate legal action when they are unveiled. Currently, migrants – such as foreign workers – must live here legally for five years before applying for settlement to stay here permanently, known as 'indefinite leave to remain'. Plans unveiled in November said that would be extended to ten years, rising to 20 years for refugees. No comments have so far been submitted. 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