Berlin—In a high-profile session on 6 November 2025 the German Bundestag resoundingly voted down an Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) motion that sought to scale back statutory healthcare for asylum-seekers and other non-citizens. The proposal would have limited treatment to life-saving emergencies and required the federal government to copy Denmark’s restrictive model. In a roll-call vote only 126 MPs backed the text, while 434 voted against it.
The AfD argued that generous medical benefits acted as a ‘pull factor’ and burdened social-insurance finances. Government and opposition parties countered that the plan was both unconstitutional and economically short-sighted. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach warned that denying preventive or chronic-care coverage would increase public-health risks and ultimately cost employers and insurers more.
For global mobility managers the decision preserves legal certainty: transferees, posted workers and their dependants who fall into asylum-seeker or temporary-protection categories will retain access to the broader range of services introduced in 2016. Employers must, however, continue to budget for compulsory contributions to statutory health insurance or equivalent private coverage during the first 18 months of an employee’s stay.
![Bundestag rejects AfD bid to curb migrants’ access to German healthcare]()
The debate also foreshadows a wider immigration overhaul promised by Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s coalition. While the government is tightening border controls and family-reunification rules, Thursday’s vote shows there is little appetite in the mainstream parties to erode Germany’s social safety net for newcomers. Companies can expect the statutory Asylbewerberleistungsgesetz (Asylum-Seekers Benefits Act) to remain broadly intact, but compliance audits are likely to intensify as authorities verify eligibility and cost allocations between federal and Länder budgets.
In practical terms HR departments should:
• Continue enrolling short-term assignees and dependants in statutory or private health plans from day one;
• Monitor forthcoming guidance from the Federal Employment Agency (BA) on reimbursement procedures for medical costs of third-country nationals under temporary protection;
• Brief employees that proof of comprehensive coverage remains a key factor in residence-permit renewals.
The defeat of the AfD motion reassures multinationals that Germany’s commitment to universal healthcare still extends to most migrant categories—an important competitive advantage in the European talent race.
The AfD argued that generous medical benefits acted as a ‘pull factor’ and burdened social-insurance finances. Government and opposition parties countered that the plan was both unconstitutional and economically short-sighted. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach warned that denying preventive or chronic-care coverage would increase public-health risks and ultimately cost employers and insurers more.
For global mobility managers the decision preserves legal certainty: transferees, posted workers and their dependants who fall into asylum-seeker or temporary-protection categories will retain access to the broader range of services introduced in 2016. Employers must, however, continue to budget for compulsory contributions to statutory health insurance or equivalent private coverage during the first 18 months of an employee’s stay.
The debate also foreshadows a wider immigration overhaul promised by Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s coalition. While the government is tightening border controls and family-reunification rules, Thursday’s vote shows there is little appetite in the mainstream parties to erode Germany’s social safety net for newcomers. Companies can expect the statutory Asylbewerberleistungsgesetz (Asylum-Seekers Benefits Act) to remain broadly intact, but compliance audits are likely to intensify as authorities verify eligibility and cost allocations between federal and Länder budgets.
In practical terms HR departments should:
• Continue enrolling short-term assignees and dependants in statutory or private health plans from day one;
• Monitor forthcoming guidance from the Federal Employment Agency (BA) on reimbursement procedures for medical costs of third-country nationals under temporary protection;
• Brief employees that proof of comprehensive coverage remains a key factor in residence-permit renewals.
The defeat of the AfD motion reassures multinationals that Germany’s commitment to universal healthcare still extends to most migrant categories—an important competitive advantage in the European talent race.
