A recent academic study in the Netherlands reveals extensive government spending on migrants, surpassing investments in core priority sectors.
Migrant subsidies have averaged €17 billion annually over the past decades, overshadowing key areas like education, healthcare, justice, and social security.
In a paper titled “Borderless Welfare State: The Consequences of Immigration on Public Finances,” the tangible impact of mass immigration on Dutch public funds is examined. Official government spending data was meticulously analyzed.
Data shows that immigration relief policies reached their peak at €32 billion in 2016, primarily due to the 2015 European migrant crisis.
The study underscores that the Dutch government’s financial support for migrants significantly surpasses expenditures on critical sectors.
Between 1995 and 2019, immigration incurred costs exceeding €400 billion ($430 billion at the current exchange rate), primarily driven by various welfare programs.
Based on Statistics Netherlands data, this figure could soar to €600 billion in the next 20 years without intervention.
This predicament necessitates a substantial revision of immigration policy or a significant overhaul of the welfare system.
Furthermore, the analysis highlights that immigrants typically pay lower taxes and make fewer social security contributions than Dutch nationals.
A separate report by the Dutch Finance Ministry corroborates this finding, confirming that the net fiscal contribution of migrant families is considerably lower than the national average.
The study differentiates between various types of immigration to the Netherlands, categorizing study immigrants as economically positive and asylum seekers as a fiscal burden.
These categories also correlate with specific regions of origin.
Challenging regions highlighted in the study include the Middle East (including Pakistan and Turkey) and Africa (Northern, Central, Western, and the Horn of Africa). The net cost of asylum seekers averages approximately €475,000 per person.
