The German state has paid out a record sum in child benefits to recipients abroad in 2025, latest numbers by the Federal Employment Agency (BfA) show.
Altogether, €528 million in benefits were transferred to foreign bank accounts, the highest sum so far.
Child benefits transferred abroad have rapidly risen over the past years. In 2010, Germany only transferred €36 million abroad. In 2024, the total had already risen to €514 million.
Altogether, the country paid out €55.3 billion in child benefits in 2025, meaning that the transfers to foreign bank accounts account for about 1 per cent of total pay-outs.
The majority of the foreign transfers went to European Union member states, primarily Poland, Romania, Czechia and France.
The BfA cautions that a foreign bank account does not automatically mean that the child for whom the benefits are paid is also living abroad as migrants may retain their old bank accounts after moving to Germany.
Out of the 17.6 million children for whom child benefits were paid, though, more than 3.9 million – or 22 per cent – did not have German citizenship. This means almost €13 billion in benefits were paid to non-German recipients.
The biggest groups of non-German recipients are Turkish people, followed by Ukrainians.
The right-wing Alternative for Germany party (AfD) commented on the numbers, saying the German child benefits system needed an overhaul.
AfD MP René Springer said: “As in Denmark, entitlement for foreigners should be linked to clear conditions: A valid residence permit and several years of gainful employment. This is the only way to stop immigration into our social systems on the basis of attractive social benefits.”
Currently, Germany generally pays child benefits of €259 per month to all parents (or other caretakers of children) residing in Germany for children aged 0 to 17. For EU citizens employment in Germany is not a necessary condition to receive the benefits due to EU regulation.
The system has repeatedly been exploited by fraudsters. In February 2025, for example, authorities in Duisburg (North Rhine Westphalia) uncovered a large-scale fraud operation by “families from south-eastern Europe” – primarily gypsies from Romania and Bulgaria – who had falsely registered children to take in child benefits.
