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Get Out, Please: Berlin Now Offers Migrants Money for Leaving Germany

© AFP 2023 / Christof StacheMigrants arrive at the first registration point for asylum seekers in Erding near Munich, southern Germany, on November 15, 2016
Migrants arrive at the first registration point for asylum seekers in Erding near Munich, southern Germany, on November 15, 2016 - Sputnik International
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In an attempt to tackle the heavy migration crisis that has been affecting the country for the last few years, German authorities developed new incentives to decrease the number of refugees staying in the country.

Asylum seekers are now entitled to apply for financial benefits if they leave Germany voluntarily, Bild am Sonntag reported.

Families can receive one-off benefits of up to 3,000 euros, which they can spend for construction and renovation works in their home countries. For individuals, the maximum amount is 1,000 euros per person.

In his statement to the newspaper, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière (CDU) called on asylum seekers to take advantage of the program.

"If you decide for a voluntary return by the end of February, you can receive a housing aid for the first twelve months in your country of origin in addition to the Start-Help," the politician said.

READ MORE: Facing the Inevitable: the Full-Throttle Islamization of Europe

The program is called "Your Country. Your Future. Now!" and runs until February 28, 2018. It complements the "Start-Help Plus" program, launched in February 2017, according to which asylum seekers receive 1,200 euros if they decide to voluntary return home before their application is processed or 800 euros if their applications have already been rejected.

Rejected asylum seekers generally have to return to their countries of origin. We call for a voluntary return instead of a deportation. There is now a housing aid subsidy until February, 28.

Germany has been struggling to manage a massive refugee crisis, which escalated in 2015 with hundreds of thousands of people from the Middle East and North Africa seeking asylum in EU member states.

READ MORE: Vanishing Act: 30,000 Rejected Asylum Seekers Disappear in Germany

Reports say that the number of asylum applications has fallen drastically in 2017 compared to the previous year.

According to the Ministry of Interior, around 187,000 people applied for asylum in Germany in the first 10 months of 2017. In the same period last year, there were about 694,000 such applications.

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