New data has revealed that asylum seeker families in Vienna could receive almost €50,000 a year in benefits, sparking a debate about what some saw as overly generous welfare payments.
According to calculations by the Ministry of Integration published on April 17, a family of five – father, mother and three children – received more than €48,000 in welfare payments annually in the Austrian capital.
That did not include other financial advantages for welfare recipients such as exemptions from television taxes (€200 per year), medicine prescription fees and reduced prices for public transport and museums entry.
Notably, the figure put out by the ministry was higher than what many Austrian families with working parents could expect to have as disposable after-tax income.
The average wage in Austria in 2024 was €60,000 per year before tax. This translated to €41,000 after tax. Even counting tax rebates for three underage children, the total was €47,000 – without any of the additional welfare benefits.
For people with semi-skilled jobs, the disposable income was likely lower than that.
Austrian daily the Krone reported Integration Minister Claudia Plakolm as saying: “Anyone who lives here must become a part of society. They must learn the German language, be willing to work and adhere to our values.
“Unemployment is poison for integration. It takes away the opportunity to practice the German they have learned and to come into contact with people.”
A speaker for the City of Vienna said the ministry’s numbers were inaccurate as they also included family subsidies of €6,000 per year, which an asylum seeker family would also receive if they were not on welfare, bringing the total of the welfare payments down to “only” €42,000.
The ministry’s calculations have revived a long-standing debate over Vienna’s burgeoning welfare budget – 10 days before the local elections in Austria’s capital on April 27.
The nine Austrian States have great freedom in setting their own level of welfare payments. Vienna, which has been run by the Social Democrats since the end of the Second World War, has been seen as especially generous.
In August 2024, many Austrians were shocked to learn that a Syrian family with seven children in Vienna received more than €4,600 in welfare payments per month – in addition to other family subsidies and benefits.
The same family would only receive €2,300 per month in other parts of Austria.
Because of this perceived generosity with taxpayer money, Vienna has become a magnet for welfare recipients.
Recent numbers from the 2024 Integration Report of the Federal Chancellery showed that 74 per cent of all Syrian nationals living in Vienna were on welfare, as were 72 per cent of Somalis and 54 per cent of Afghans.
Altogether, 9 per cent of Vienna’s inhabitants received social welfare – compared to only 4 per cent of Austrians nationwide.
