Immigration and the welfare state in Germany

Abstract

This paper examines the connection between the permission to immigrate and the rights to benefits in the welfare state. Drawing on the concept of ‘status’ as developed by Jellinek, the impact of status on the social position of immigrants is examined. Jellinek's definition of status lends itself well to determining different degrees of inclusion into the welfare state of different groups of immigrants. This is illustrated for the Federal Republic of Germany by a comparison between asylum seekers, newcomers who are entitled to asylum, migrant workers and Aussiedler, that is immigrants of German origin from eastern European countries.