The scandalous case came to light when the family wanted to rent an apartment in Vienna's Landstrasse district and had to provide proof of their income.

The case that has caused a stir across Austria and outraged people took place in Vienna. A large Syrian family receives 4,600 euros a month as a minimum benefit – without anyone working. This came to light when the family wanted to rent an apartment in Vienna’s Landstrasse district and had to prove their income.

When the landlord asked for proof of their income, instead of a pay slip, the migrant couple presented a statement of minimum income from the city of Vienna, with the unbelievable sum of 4,600 euros per month.

The Austrian Heute newspaper looked at how this whopping amount of money can come together. The two adults receive 809 euros per month and an additional 51 euros each because minors live in their household. In addition, they get 312 euros per child, although one child is not eligible. On top of this, they also receive a rent subsidy of 995 euros. It is outrageous that a migrant family doing no work has as much income as working people, and in many cases the total amount of the benefits even exceeds the wages paid in some jobs, said Maximilian Krauss, the head of the Vienna unit of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPO).

„This is unfair. Once again, it has been proven that the Social Democratic city administration is luring migrants from the Arab region and Africa to Vienna’s welfare paradise,”

Krauss told the Heute. While he considers this social system scandalous, the city’s leftist social councilor Peter Hacker believes this is the right thing to do. The same amount is paid for each child and there is no upper limit.

Last year, 62 per cent of the recipients of social welfare benefits from the city of Vienna were foreign nationals, with only 44 per cent of them having been granted asylum. In Vienna, 74 per cent of Syrians claimed minimum benefits, followed by Somalis (71 per cent) and Afghans (54 per cent), while the figure for Austrians was only four per cent.