Return to Syria

During a visit to one of Damascus’s destroyed suburbs, the German Foreign Minister said that living there in dignity was impossible. The now much-quoted statement has sparked a heated debate in Germany over the return of Syrian refugees that is often at odds with the realities and interests of both countries.

Many other neighbourhoods and regions across Syria have suffered destruction on a scale similar to that of Harasta and are completely uninhabitable. Large parts of the country lack electricity, water, and employment. According to the United Nations (UN), 16 million people in Syria are in need of humanitarian assistance; the country has been devastated, and peace remains fragile. Fighting and attacks are a regular occurrence, and abductions and crime are widespread. The new transitional government under Ahmed al-Sharaa has promised a “Syria for all”, but many secular Syrians have concerns about the religious orientation of his new administration. Members of religious and ethnic minorities in particular live in fear, but in many places, the politically active and women also feel unsafe. 

First returnees from neighbouring countries 

Despite these conditions, around a million refugees have now returned to Syria. The biggest wave of returnees so far has come from Syria’s neighbours Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. Many of these individuals had lived in abject poverty in UNHCR refugee camps or in otherwise precarious conditions, sometimes even on the streets. For over a decade now, Syrian families begging has been a common sight on the streets of Beirut, Istanbul and other cities across the region.

Syrian refugees who have been living under plastic tarpaulins, subjected to assaults and violence, are likely to return home more quickly than those who have created a new life for themselves in their host countries. Before making their decision, many potential returnees carefully weigh up factors such as rental prices, wages, security and educational opportunities. Some families are divided, with one parent continuing to work abroad, while the other takes the children and seeks shelter with relatives in Syria. On the whole, however, many are simply biding their time – in the hope that either the situation in Syria will improve or that at the very least the conditions in exile will not worsen. Increasingly, these refugees are further beleaguered by cuts in UN aid or face growing xenophobia. 

At the same time, host countries in the region are pursuing contradictory strategies: they are pushing for repatriation, but have failed to make it viable. Especially in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, Syrian nationals are under immense pressure – facing the threat of deportation, job and aid cuts, and bureaucratic obstacles. As a result, returnees are poorer and more vulnerable than ever.

No home visits allowed for Syrian refugees in Germany 

There are currently approximately 951,000 Syrians living in Germany. Based on information from the Ministry of the Interior, as of August 2025, around 920 are subject to immediate deportation, with no temporary suspension. The vast majority have refugee status, are employed or are in job training or education. Indeed, according to the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), 61 percent of adult Syrians in Germany are employed – many in sectors with acute staff shortages such as healthcare. But even those who have not achieved financial independence and claim welfare benefits often have children attending school, completing an apprenticeship or studying at university. After ten years of living in Germany, a lot of Syrian children speak better German than Arabic, which is why many parents want to at least make sure their children finish school before considering a return to Syria. 

What the vast majority want – and have often desperately longed – is to have the chance to visit their homeland. They want to see their parents, the relatives and friends they left behind. They want to check whether their house is still standing, see if their apartment is habitable and explore opportunities for work. Ideally, they would like to use the skills they have acquired or improved abroad to help rebuild their country. But so far, only those with German citizenship have been allowed to do this. For everyone else, a visit to Syria would mean forfeiting their refugee status in Germany. An important step, one that is essential for many to even consider returning to Syria, would be to allow home visits for people with asylum or temporary protection status – a step that France and Turkey have already taken. How can anyone decide to return to Syria permanently if they cannot travel there to assess the conditions without giving up everything they have built in Germany over the years?

An undignified domestic political debate 

The discussion initiated by the CDU on the repatriation of Syrian refugees from Germany is a domestic political manoeuvre aimed at taking the wind out of the AfD’s sails. Yet it achieves precisely the opposite, as it not only encourages the stigmatisation and exclusion of Syrian refugees by framing their presence as a problem, it also promises steps that cannot realistically be taken. Calls for large-scale repatriation — whether voluntary or forced — ignore the realities in both Syria and Germany. 

Syria is currently not in a position to accept large numbers of refugees. Housing is scarce and expensive, and the infrastructure is already overstretched and simply does not have the capacity to supply more people. Priority should be given to internally displaced persons or to those from neighbouring countries who wish to return home. Syrians living in Germany are in a better position to help rebuild their country from here than if they were to return home for good – be that with their own expertise, within the framework of German-Syrian cooperation or even just by supporting their relatives through remittances. The large exile community in Germany can play a crucial role in Syrian reconstruction and promote economic relations between the two countries. The current political debate, however, undermines the trust that has been built and diminishes the foreign policy and economic opportunities that currently exist. 

But a hasty repatriation of Syrian refugees living here would also be problematic for Germany. First, it would create a shortage of skilled workers in many sectors – individuals whose education and training Germany has, in some cases, invested in over many years. Second, the courts and public authorities, which are already overstretched, would be occupied for years to come processing the flood of lawsuits and proceedings that a change in asylum or protection status for Syrian refugees would trigger. The promised repatriations would take a long time to implement, giving the AfD additional grounds to criticise the government. Instead of repeating the mistake of following right-wing narratives and framing the presence of refugees in Germany as a problem, it would be more productive to highlight the positive role Syrians play both in Germany and in rebuilding their country – and to do our utmost to support this reconstruction so that the voluntary return of Syrian refugees becomes part of this success story.

Dr Friederike Stolleis is Desk Officer in the Middle East and North Africa Department of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in Berlin. Prior to this, she was Head of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung’s offices in Algeria and Syria. Her academic background is in Social Anthropology and Near and Middle Eastern Studies.