Poll results
Should sufficient knowledge of German be a prerequisite for receiving social benefits?
Support
Reject
Don't know
PolitPro Community – 3799 respondents – 04.12.2023-11.12.2023
Poll information
Should sufficient knowledge of German be a prerequisite for receiving social benefits? 66% of respondents are in favor of introducing the requirement of sufficient German language skills for receiving social benefits, while 28% are against.
:undecided% chose the answer "Don't know". The survey was conducted among 3799 users of the PolitPro app during 04.12.2023-11.12.2023. The results are not representative, but may give a rough idea of the political mood around the issue.
Pros - What's in favor?
- Integration and social participation: Sufficient knowledge of German is essential for the integration of migrants and enables active participation in social life. Mastery of the language facilitates communication, access to education, work and social contacts. The prerequisite of German language skills creates incentives for language development and promotes integration.
- Labor market integration: Language skills are an important factor for labor market integration. By making sufficient knowledge of German a prerequisite for receiving social benefits, incentives are created to learn German and actively seek employment. This can increase the chances of successful entry into the labor market and reduce long-term dependency on social benefits.
- Resource optimization: The requirement of German language skills can help optimize resources in the administration. A language barrier makes communication and the exchange of information between authorities and benefit recipients difficult. Sufficient knowledge of German can prevent misunderstandings and ensure more efficient administrative processes.
Cons - What's against it?
- Discrimination and unequal treatment: The requirement of German language skills can lead to unequal treatment of migrants and possibly have a discriminatory effect. There is a risk that people will be excluded from receiving social benefits due to language barriers, which can lead to social exclusion and disadvantage.
- Access to basic needs: The purpose of receiving social benefits is to protect basic needs such as food, shelter, and medical care. A requirement of German language skills could result in people who are in urgent need of social benefits not having access to these basic needs due to language problems.
- Promoting integration through other measures: The requirement of sufficient German language skills could be supplemented or replaced by other measures to promote language and integration. It might be more effective to offer targeted language courses and strengthen integration support instead of making the receipt of social benefits dependent on German language skills.