German authorities have started confiscating jewellery, valuables and cash from refugees entering the country to make them fund their stay.
Officials in Bavaria and other southern states seeing high numbers of asylum seekers arriving from Austria are following Denmark and Switzerland to implement the controversial practice.
Joachim Herrmann, the Bavarian interior minister, said anything worth more than €750 (£570) can legally be seized in his state.
“The practice in Bavaria and the federal rules set out in law correspond in substance with the process in Switzerland,” he added.
In neighbouring Baden-Württemberg, asylum seekers can only keep money and valuables worth €350 (£265).
The average amount seized so far is “in the four figures” per person across the southern states, Bild reported.
Aydan Özoguz, the federal government’s integration commissioner, told the newspaper that they are implementing federal laws that require asylum seekers to use their own resources.
“If you apply for asylum here, you must use up your income and wealth before receiving aid,” he said, according to a translation by The Local.
“That includes, for example, family jewellery. Even if some prejudices persist – you don’t have it any better as an asylum seeker as someone on unemployment benefit.”
Similar policies have caused controversy elsewhere in Europe but have been received largely without opposition in Germany, where attitudes towards the 1.1 million asylum seekers who arrived last year have shifted in the wake of the Cologne attacks.
Ulla Jelpke, an MP for the left-wing Die Linke party, criticised it as “excessive”.
“Those who apply for asylum are exercising a fundamental right,” she told Der Tagesspiegel.
“That must not be linked to costs, even in cases were applications are rejected.”
Swiss authorities recorded 112 cases where assets over 1000 francs (£690) were confiscated from asylum seekers last year, when around 45,000 refugees arrived in the country.
The state secretariat for migration said anyone who leaves voluntarily within seven months of arrival can take their money and belongings back.
Denmark finalised legislation to do the same last week, but increased the threshold to 10,000 global (£1,015) and exempted sentimental items like wedding rings in the wake of international outrage and internal opposition.
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GermanyMohamed Zayat, a refugee from Syria, plays with his daughter Ranim, who is nearly 3, in the one room they and Mohamed’s wife Laloosh call home at an asylum-seekers’ shelter in Vossberg village on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. The Zayats arrived approximately two months ago after trekking through Turkey, Greece and the Balkans and are now waiting for local authorities to process their asylum application, after which they will be allowed to live independently and settle elsewhere in Germany. Approximately 60 asylum-seekers, mostly from Syria, Chechnya and Somalia, live at the Vossberg shelter, which is run by the Arbeiter-Samariter Bund (ASB) charity
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GermanyA refugee child Amnat Musayeva points to a star with her photo and name that decorates the door to her classroom as teacher Martina Fischer looks on at the local kindergarten Amnat and her siblings attend on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. The children live with their family at an asylum-seekers’ shelter in nearby Vossberg village and are waiting for local authorities to process their asylum applications. Approximately 60 asylum-seekers, mostly from Syria, Chechnya and Somalia, live at the Vossberg shelter, which is run by the Arbeiter-Samariter Bund (ASB) charity
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GermanyKurdish Syrian asylum-applicant Mohamed Ali Hussein (R), 19, and fellow applicant Autur, from Latvia, load benches onto a truckbed while performing community service, for which they receive a small allowance, in Wilhelmsaue village on October 9, 2015 near Letschin, Germany. Mohamed and Autur live at an asylum-applicants’ shelter in nearby Vossberg village. Approximately 60 asylum-seekers, mostly from Syria, Chechnya and Somalia, live at the Vossberg shelter, which is run by the Arbeiter-Samariter Bund (ASB) charity
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GermanyMohamed Ali Hussein ((L), 19, and his cousin Sinjar Hussein, 34, sweep leaves at a cemetery in Gieshof village, for which they receive a small allowance, near Letschin
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GermanyMohamed Zayat, a refugee from Syria, looks among donated clothing in the basement of the asylum-seekers’ shelter that is home to Mohamed, his wife Laloosh and their daughter Ranim as residents’ laundry dries behind in Vossberg village on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. The Zayats arrived approximately two months ago after trekking through Turkey, Greece and the Balkans and are now waiting for local authorities to process their asylum application, after which they will be allowed to live independently and settle elsewhere in Germany
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GermanyAsya Sugaipova (L), Mohza Mukayeva and Khadra Zhukova prepare food in the communal kitchen at the asylum-seekers’ shelter that is their home in Vossberg village in Letschin
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GermanyEfrah Abdullahi Ahmed looks down from the communal kitchen window at her daughter Sumaya, 10, who had just returned from school, at the asylum-seekers’ shelter that is their home in Vossberg
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GermanyAsylum-applicants, including Syrians Mohamed Ali Hussein (C-R, in black jacket) and Fadi Almasalmeh (C), return from grocery shopping with other refugees to the asylum-applicants’ shelter that is their home in Vossberg village in Letschin
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GermanyMohamed Zayat (2nd from L), a refugee from Syria, smokes a cigarette after shopping for groceries with his daughter Ranim, who is nearly 3, and fellow-Syrian refugees Mohamed Ali Hussein (C) and Fadi Almasalmeh (L) at a local supermarket on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. All of them live at an asylum-seekers’ shelter in nearby Vossberg village and are waiting for local authorities to process their asylum applications, after which they will be allowed to live independently and settle elsewhere in Germany
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GermanyKurdish Syrian refugees Leila, 9, carries her sister Avin, 1, in the backyard at the asylum-seekers’ shelter that is home to them and their family in Vossberg village in Letschin
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GermanySomali refugees and husband and wife Said Ahmed Gure (R) and Ayaan Gure pose with their infant son Muzammili, who was born in Germany, in the room they share at an asylum-seekers’ shelter in Vossberg village on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. Approximately 60 asylum-seekers, mostly from Syria, Chechnya and Somalia, live at the Vossberg shelter, which is run by the Arbeiter-Samariter Bund (ASB) charity, and are waiting for authorities to process their application for asylum
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GermanyGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel pauses for a selfie with a refugee after she visited the AWO Refugium Askanierring shelter for refugees in Berlin
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The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) had said the bill, which also delays family reunifications, would “fuel fear and xenophobia”.
The debate comes as thousands of refugees from the Middle East and Africa continue to arrive on European shores every day.
At least 46 people drowned on Friday as two overcrowded smuggling boats drowned on their way to Greek islands in the Aegean Sea.
“These deaths highlight both the heartlessness and the futility of the growing chorus demanding greater restrictions on refugee access to Europe,” said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International’s Europe and Central Asia director.
“A manageable crisis has become a moral test that Europe is in danger of failing dismally.”
Additional reporting by AP
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