Non-Germans more likely to experience homelessness in Germany

Non-German residents are overrepresented among people experiencing homelessness in Germany, according to figures from the Federal Association of Homelessness Assistance.

Non-citizens overrepresented among homeless in Germany

Figures recently published by the Federal Association of Homelessness Assistance (BAG Wohnungslosenhilfe e.V) show that non-German residents in Germany are overrepresented among people in the country experiencing homelessness.

In 2023, 38 percent of all homeless people who sought assistance from BAG didn’t have a German passport. Since just 14,8 percent of people living in Germany don’t have a German passport, non-citizens are overrepresented in this group.

Among the women who sought help from BAG, 48 percent didn’t have a German passport. Of all the non-Germans contacting the association for help, one-fifth were facing homelessness despite being in work.

However, non-German citizens make up just 15 percent of the country’s overall homeless population - a total of 531.600 people as of January 2025. These figures come from the Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building (BMWSB), which began recording the homeless population in 2022. Since then, the number of people experiencing homelessness in Germany has almost doubled.

Social support should be more easily accessible to non-German speakers

To prevent people from slipping through the social security net and becoming homeless, critics argue that the country’s social security benefits should be more easily accessible to residents who don’t speak German.

According to a report from RND, Joachim Krauß, BAG’s migration specialist, believes that simplifying Germany’s foreign qualification recognition process, removing language barriers and increasing access to social benefits would all help prevent non-German citizens from falling into poverty and becoming homeless.

Krauß added that the German government urgently needed to improve access to affordable housing. BAG’s Susanne Hahmann agreed, stressing that, “So long as there is no supply of affordable housing in Germany, there will be no effective policies to combat homelessness.”

When entering the Bundestag in 2021, Germany’s previous SPD-FDP-Greens coalition declared it would attempt to end homelessness in the federal republic by 2030. The government adopted an action plan in spring 2024, but collapsed by the autumn.

Entering the Bundestag in May 2025, the new CDU-SPD coalition made the same promise and announced the Housing-First-Projekte. However, without significant structural changes to prevent tenants from being evicted and becoming homeless, or to obligate landlords to rent properties that have been left vacant to accrue value, experts doubt the current plan will be effective.