ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - People from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey residing in Germany or seeking asylum there sent more than €1.68 billion (around $1.85 billion) in remittances to their countries last year, the German Federal Bank (Bundesbank) told Rudaw on Wednesday, adding that it cannot determine whether any of these funds originated from government-funded social welfare payments.
“According to financial records, we cannot provide information on how much of this money comes from social welfare benefits, nor can it be determined how this money is utilized in the countries of origin,” the German bank said.
The bank noted that the highest amount of money was sent to Turkey, with €901 million (nearly $1 billion) in remittances directed to Kurdish-majority areas in the country’s southeast. This was followed by Syria, including the Kurdish-led northeast (Rojava), which received around €520 million (approximately $572 million).
Meanwhile, Iraq and the Kurdistan Region received €141 million (around $155 million), while Iran and its Kurdish-majority western areas (Rojhelat) received €121 million (around $133 million) in transfers from Germany, according to the bank.
Germany has historically maintained high acceptance rates for asylum seekers and war refugees, offering long-term residency and pathways to citizenship. Despite recent economic slowdowns, the country continues to face a significant structural labor shortage driven by an aging population.
Furthermore, the German government offers a wide range of support systems to asylum seekers and refugees, including financial allowances, housing assistance, free education for children, and access to healthcare.
More than one million Syrian refugees have been granted asylum in Germany, with the overwhelming majority arriving during the Syrian Civil War (2011 - 2024). The Turkish diaspora - numbering more than 1.5 million - is a long-established community in Germany that began settling during the Gastarbeiter - ‘guest worker’ era - in the 1960s.
Meanwhile, the number of Iraqi refugees increased significantly after the Islamic State (ISIS) captured large parts of the country in 2014, reaching more than 285,000 by 2025.
As for Iran, Germany has long been a top destination for Iranian secular dissidents and political refugees have left the country, especially since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, with their community in Germany now exceeding 145,000 people.
Kehy Mahmoud contributed to this article from Erbil, Kurdistan Region.
