Poland, Romania and the Czech Republic are indicated as countries where not entirely legal practices related to receiving benefits for children may occur, reports merkur.de. There are suspicions about artificial schemes in which an adult formally works in Germany and the family stays in the country of origin. Carsten Linnemann, secretary general of the CDU, even points to criminal activities. — Fraud related to child benefits is increasingly becoming a method used by criminal networks, he said in an interview with “Bild am Sonntag”. The main targets here are Poland, Romania and the Czech Republic.
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Germany wants strict penalties for benefit fraud
The CDU proposes tidying up the system, including: by making the amount of child benefit (Kindergeld) dependent on the cost of living in the country where the child actually lives. If the costs are lower than in Germany, this would mean a reduction in the benefit amount. However, the problem is incomplete knowledge about where families receiving benefits live and what their living costs are. Therefore, the CDU's plan also includes connecting databases – population registers, benefit funds and social services – which would make it easier to verify the situation of a given family.
That's not all – the party demands severe penalties for attempts to cheat the system, including: introducing the possibility of banning re-entry to Germany for people caught illegally receiving benefits.
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Child benefit in Germany is EUR 255 per month. Data quoted by merkur.de show that in 2025, over EUR 500 million was transferred to foreign accounts as part of benefits for 255,000 people. kids. However, the state does not have full knowledge of how many of them actually live outside the country.
The CDU initiative is to be discussed at the party congress at the end of February. The idea is supported by the CSU, a party that, together with the CDU, co-creates the ruling coalition in Germany.
