Controversial Deportations and the Push for Reconnaissance Trips to Syria
Deportations to Afghanistan and Syria remain highly contentious, while many Syrian refugees eagerly anticipate the German government’s promised option for authorized reconnaissance trips to their home country. Under current regulations, unauthorized travel would jeopardize their protected status in Germany.
"We need pragmatic solutions quickly if we want to support travel to Syria," said Lamya Kaddor, domestic policy spokesperson for the Green Party parliamentary group, to Deutsche Presse-Agentur. "I am frequently approached by Syrian refugees inquiring about the regulations."
The Association of German-Syrian Aid Organizations has already contacted several government departments regarding this matter, a spokesperson said.
The Union party, on the other hand, emphasizes a different priority. Domestic policy spokesperson, Alexander Throm, argues, "We need to put deportations to Afghanistan and Syria back on the agenda as soon as possible. Germany cannot afford years of standstill like under the Ampel coalition."
The number of asylum seekers highlights the necessity of deportations to these countries, especially after attacks by individuals from those regions in Aschaffenburg, Munich, Solingen, and Mannheim.
The Federal Ministry of the Interior states that it is still working on a solution "to enable Syrians to make short-term trips home to assess the situation in preparation for a permanent voluntary return without losing their protected status." The government would also like to make progress on deportations of criminals and individuals deemed violent Islamists to Syria. No deportations to Syria have occurred since 2012.
Shortly before the end of President Bashar al-Assad’s rule and his brutal security apparatus on December 8, 2024, there were plans to make progress through contacts in the Kurdish autonomous region. However, the new situation called for a change in strategy.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior announced, "As part of the federal government’s Syria Taskforce, the Ministry of the Interior is actively working to establish contact with the Syrian transitional government and to consult on issues of return."
Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) declared in January that they considered it reasonable to allow Syrian refugees to make reconnaissance trips without affecting their protected status.
When beneficiaries of protection travel to their countries of origin, the law generally assumes that the prerequisites for protection are no longer valid. Exceptions are made only when the trip is "morally imperative" – such as in cases of severe illness or the death of family members. Otherwise, they risk losing their protected status. Additionally, the trip must be reported to the immigration authority in advance.
Kaddor, the Green’s domestic policy representative, suggests, "My proposal would be either to set a limit on the number of allowed trips or to designate a specific period, for example, a year, during which one can travel to Syria as often as necessary to get a picture of the living conditions there."
She reported meeting former refugees who had returned from Lebanon or Turkey during a visit to Syria that month. Many expressed regret over their decision, citing reasons such as a lack of electricity or schools in their former homes.
Since the overthrow of Assad, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), over 300,000 Syrians have returned to their homeland. Most of them had previously lived in Jordan, Lebanon, or Turkey. A UNHCR spokesperson in Berlin estimates several thousand returnees from European countries.
The idea of exploratory trips is welcomed because "many people want to see if their house is still standing, if their neighborhood is destroyed, and what opportunities exist for rebuilding their lives."
As of December 31, 2024, 975,061 Syrian nationals resided in Germany, according to the Central Register of Foreigners. This included 10,231 individuals subject to deportation, of whom 9,156 were tolerated. Syria remains the primary country of origin for asylum seekers in Germany.
With the assistance of Qatar, 28 male criminals were deported from Germany to Afghanistan in late August 2024. Countries have recently been requested again to provide the names of Afghans subject to enforceable departure. However, no further flights have occurred since. The last German deportation flight before the change of power left for Kabul on July 6, 2021.
The German government maintains no diplomatic relations with the militant Islamist Taliban, who regained control of Kabul in August 2021.
Throm accuses Baerbock and Green Party Chancellor candidate Robert Habeck of "insincerity when they refer to the alleged lack of contact with Afghan government authorities." He points to the German government’s repeated "technical level" contact with representatives of the de facto government in Afghanistan, including on issues of freedom of travel for Afghans.