Following lengthy negotiations, the German government coalition on Tuesday (May 12) changed its stance on planned cuts to integration courses for migrants.

Asylum seekers and other migrants like those with a tolerated stay will no longer have free access to the state-sponsored general language and integration courses as Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt from the conservative CDU had announced earlier this year. 

Instead, the federal government plans to expand the so-called introductory orientation courses for this group, the Spiegel news outlet and the Reuters news agency reported. These courses teach basic language skills and everyday knowledge about life in Germany, but are significantly shorter and less expensive than regular integration courses.

Only certain groups, like refugees from Ukraine and EU citizens working in Germany are expected to be given access to a version of the full integration courses, because the German Interior Ministry needs to halve its costs.

According to news agency dpa, asylum seekers and other migrants are still free to apply for a place on these courses, but their chances of being accepted are worse than before. Individual asylum seekers or individuals with temporary suspension of deportation (Duldung) may reportedly be considered on a discretionary basis, provided sufficient budgetary funds are available.

When approached by InfoMigrants for clarification, a spokesperson from the German Interior Ministry issued this statement: "We are concentrating on providing courses for those with long-term prospects of staying in Germany. We are reacting to the reduction in the number of migrants in the country and reducing our offer accordingly. Over the past few years, the costs of integration courses have risen dramatically. In 2021, the costs reached 475 million euros, while by 2025, they were already over 1.3 billion euros. We want to stop those rises in their tracks and offer courses, like the initial orientation courses that are significantly cheaper." 

Budget negotiations to come

Home affairs experts from the governing coalition agreed that course availability will now be determined by a national quota based on the budget. According to Reuters citing coalition information, it is set to take effect as early as June 1.

"It is important that the admission freeze has been lifted," said Hakan Demir, home affairs spokesperson from junior coalition partner the social democrats SPD.

He added that the financial details of the compromise have yet to be worked out: "Whether there will be sufficient funding in the coming years now depends on the budget negotiations."

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25 hours of German instead of 600

The standard courses comprise 600 hours of German lessons and 100 hours of orientation -- covering, among other things, the German legal system and values such as tolerance and equality -- at a cost of around 3,000 euros per participant.

The more readily available introductory courses, on the other hand, will comprise only 25 hours.

In February, the ministry stated that integration courses should in future only be available to people with "positive prospects of remaining in the country."

Asked about the coalition's compromise, Dobrindt told journalists in Berlin that there had been "a significant rise in costs in recent years that was no longer justifiable." 

He said he had taken measures to address this, with a focus on people with a long-term prospect of remaining in the country.

According to the CDU, the budget for the integration courses will be capped at 600 million euros, down from 1.3 billion before the cut.

Criticism from opposition, Caritas

Politicians and welfare organizations, among others, expressed dismay amid the government's decision to suspend integration courses for asylum seekers.

Filiz Polat, the Green Party's migration expert in the Bundestag, criticized the ongoing restrictions on access to language courses. "Restricting people's access to language education deliberately hinders social participation and integration into the labor market," she explained.

Caritas, Germany's largest welfare organization, welcomed the federal government's change of course, but it said it wasn't sufficient.

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"Anyone who wants integration must ensure that people can learn German reliably, early on, and to a sufficient extent, and must also fund the necessary language courses," Caritas board member Oliver Müller told the KNA news agency.

Reacting to the exclusion of asylum seekers and other migrants from the offer, Müller pointed out that many of those affected have been in Germany for a long time. He furthermore warned that limiting the number of participants in these courses risks creating new bureaucratic hurdles, regional disparities as well as uncertainty among course providers.

with dpa, Reuters, KNA