In Bremen, Germany, a Nigerian couple has been ordered by a German court to repay €33,000 in welfare benefits to the Bremen job center after it was discovered they had been living abroad for years while fraudulently collecting payments.
According to the Lower Saxony-Bremen Social Court ruling, recipients of state welfare benefits must be able to prove their whereabouts to authorities if doubts arise. The burden of proof falls on the recipients, not the job center distributing the aid.
The Nigerian pair had been registered in Bremen and had collected basic welfare benefits from the job center since 2014. However, passport stamps revealed they had spent several years abroad during the period during which they collected over €33,000 in payments.
Investigators say the pair rarely occupied the apartment in Bremen financed by the job center. The man allegedly worked for a transport company in Nigeria and held a Nigerian tax card. His passport appeared to be manipulated to hide his overseas residency.
After their fraudulent activity was uncovered in 2018, the job center halted welfare payments to the couple and demanded repayment of all previous benefits. The pair contested the decision in court, but a spokesperson said they had lost their case.
German law requires welfare recipients to be available for work and integration programs. The court ruled the Nigerians violated these conditions by living abroad without the job center’s consent. The case highlights the need for those on state benefits to account for their whereabouts or risk repayment claims.