GETTY Angry migrants are suing Germany for not giving them access to benefits quick enough

FREE now and never miss the top politics stories again. SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up fornow and never miss the top politics stories again. We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.

Around 20 Syrian migrants have filed a case against the Berlin state Government demanding immediate access to shelter and benefits after waiting for more than a week to be registered by the authorities. It comes as serious splits emerged in Angela Merkel's Government over how to divide economic migrants from genuine refugees fleeing war-torn countries. Hundreds of asylum seekers are still waiting to be registered due to huge backlogs at the city's main refugee centre.

Huge crowds gather outside every day and many claim they have been waiting for weeks. Until their papers are processed by the State Office for Health and Social Affairs, the refugees have no access to Government refugee shelters or benefits.

GETTY Migrants claim they have been waiting for a week to apply for asylum

They are effectively homeless with the country's bitter winter just around the corner - and night-time temperatures have already fallen below freezing. More than 170,000 migrants flooded into Europe last month alone as the continent's unprecedented refugee crisis continues to spiral out of control. This latest development is likely to raise eyebrows as Germany's controversial policy of welcoming new arrivals with open arms has already been blamed for the shocking numbers.

GETTY Migrants have been queuing up in freezing temperatures

And Mrs Merkel's promise to grant automatic citizenship to refugees was blasted for encouraging more migrants to make the treacherous journey. The country is now considering setting up "transit zones" on its borders, where migrants would be kept while their asylum claims are assessed. However Mrs Merkel said the proposal would only work in certain cases, and would "not help for thousands and thousands of refugees".