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Do citizens of the EU have the right to get Kindergeld (child benefit) for their children, if they (all the family) live in Germany? Or is Kindergeld only paid to German children or German parents?

Is it enough, if one parent has the German nationality? Or do the children have to be Germans?

Scott Earle
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erik
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1 Answers1

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EU (and Swiss, Norwegian or Icelandic) citizens who reside in Germany can get Kindergeld on a par with German citizens. Other people (citizens from third countries living in Germany, people who work in Germany but reside elsewhere) can also be eligible depending on their status and other details.

Source: Wikipedia (in German), Merkblatt Kindergeld 2014 from the German unemployment agency.

Gala
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  • Note that if the parent is an EU citizen in Germany, but the children are elsewhere in the world, the situation is set to change shortly (based on media reports at least) – Gagravarr Jul 17 '14 at 18:02
  • @Gagravarr I have heard complaints about that some time ago but I don't know the current status of all this. I would be curious to know more. Note that there are already restrictions for children living abroad, for Germans and EU citizens alike. What has happened in Germany last year is a burst of new applications from people who thought they became eligible (covering not only the current year but the last four years, as the law allows). It's not clear yet that they really are or that anything needs to be done (which obviously wouldn't prevent politicians to introduce some reform anyway). – Gala Jul 17 '14 at 21:51