Thousands of individuals, such as those whose asylum requests have been rejected or who have little chance of success in the asylum process, have received financial assistance to voluntarily leave Germany this year.
By the end of October, 8.263 people had left Germany with financial support provided through a funding program jointly financed by the federal and state governments, according to a response from the German government to a query by Bundestag representative and member of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, Leif-Erik Holm.
Through the Reintegration and Emigration Program for Asylum-Seekers in Germany/Government Assisted Repatriation Program (REAG/GARP), impoverished migrants can receive funds for airfare and bus tickets or medical assistance.
The government’s response indicates that over 8.2 million euroshas been allocated for the program this year.
Deportations are typically much more expensive than voluntary departures.
“We should seize every opportunity to convince rejected asylum seekers and other foreigners who must leave the country to do so,” said Holm.
He added that this would be less costly than providing full social benefits. There is also substantial financial support from the European Union (EU) for facilitating departures.
