Doctors in Germany have been told to stop frivolously handing out sick notes to migrants who claim they are too ill to be deported.

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said too many certificates were being issued when there is 'no real health reason' why they can't travel.

He said: 'It can't be true that 70 per cent of men under the age of 40 are declared sick and not fit to travel before deportation. Experience suggests this is not the case.'

Migrants queue at the compound outside the Berlin Office of Health and Social Affairs as they wait for their registration. Doctors have been told to stop frivolously handing out sick notes to migrants who claim they are too ill to be deported after their applications have been refused

Mr de Maiziere said migrants should have their benefits cut if they do not co-operate on establishing their identity or if they do not leave the country if their asylum application is rejected.

The legal framework for that was established last year and needs to be applied more consistently, he told regional newspaper Rheinische Post.

More than a million migrants arrived in Germany last year, a record influx that has boosted support for anti-immigrant groups and raised concerns about security. New arrivals have slowed this year.