Many German citizens supported refugees
As noted in the publication "Russkaya Germaniya," the procedure is quite simple: the inviting party signs an official document stating that they assume all financial costs associated with providing housing and food for the invitees (Verpflichtungserklärung, commonly referred to as an invitation). On average, the amount was about 800 euros per person. The costs for health insurance were to be covered by the state authorities.
After the arriving family members of refugees obtained the appropriate legal status, i.e., official permission to stay, the guarantee was supposed to automatically end. At least, that's what local authorities promised. In reality, however, it turned out differently.
Completely unexpectedly, it turned out that guarantors must continue to financially support refugees if they receive social benefits from the state. "There can be no question of terminating the guarantee here," the Federal Ministry of Labor believes, citing current legislation. Understandably, the people who volunteered to help refugees are in shock. They now face enormous financial obligations.
For example, according to data cited by Klaus-Dieter Grote, a member of the city administration of Giessen in Hesse, one guarantor had to pay 13,000 euros for a family of four Syrian refugees. And if family members cannot find work, this amount rises to 52,000 euros! At least, such bills are sent to guarantors by Hessian social welfare offices and branches of the Employment Agency. "Many guarantors are now on the verge of bankruptcy because they don't know where to get that much money," complains the Green politician, who himself provided financial guarantees for a family of refugees from Syria.
The Hessian Ministry of the Interior, for its part, is now just throwing up its hands, citing the law, the very meaning of the word Verpflichtungserklärung (literally "declaration of assumption of obligations"), and referring to a corresponding directive from the Federal Ministry of Labor, to which the job centers are subordinate. At the same time, however, the Ministry of the Interior admits that local Hessian officials proceeded from a "different legal understanding" of this situation.
Meanwhile, the judiciary has sided with the Ministry of Labor, headed by SPD representative Andrea Nahles. A recent decision by the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig allows authorities to make financial claims against guarantors of refugees who are on state support. Now, residents of Germany who feel deceived and who sincerely wanted to help people in need are forced to appeal to higher courts. However, even experienced legal experts cannot predict the outcome of the court proceedings.