Germany's southern states are confiscating refugees' valuables in order to pay for their stay, according to local authorities. It comes as Denmark moves ahead with a plan to do the same, part of a controversial bill aimed at curbing asylum seekers' rights.

"Cash holdings and valuables can be secured [by the authorities] if they are over €750 (US$810) and if the person has an outstanding bill, or is expected to have one,” Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann told Bild newspaper on Thursday.

The government of Baden-Württemberg has implemented a stricter process, with police confiscating cash and valuables above €350 ($378).

The average amount per person confiscated by authorities in the southern states has so far been "in the four figures,” according to Bild.

By confiscating the personal belongings of refugees, the states are implementing federal laws that require asylum seekers to use up their own resources before receiving state aid.

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"If you apply for asylum here, you must use up your income and wealth before receiving aid," said the federal government's integration commissioner, Aydan Ozoguz, stressing that such wealth includes assets such as family jewelry.

The move has been criticized by the Left party (Die Linke), with MP Ulla Jelpke telling Der Tagesspiegel that “those who apply for asylum are exercising their basic rights [under the German Constitution].”

"That must not – even if they are rejected – be tied up with costs," she said.