Sharp Increase in Rejections of Syrian Asylum Seekers in Germany.. Reopening Cases After Change in Stance on Syria

Germany recorded a notable increase in the number of rejected Syrian asylum applications during October, with 1906 rejection decisions, compared to only 163 cases rejected from January to the end of September, according to data from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees.


Previous Suspension Then Return to Decisions

The office had frozen most decisions related to Syrian applications at the beginning of December, due to the rapid developments in Syria following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime.
However, formal decisions continued during that period, such as determining the European country responsible for the case, in addition to continuing to issue decisions regarding criminals and those classified as security threats.


Court Supports New Strictness

The Federal Office clarified that it issued complete rejection decisions in individual cases against Syrians, indicating that recent judicial rulings support a cautious approach of not accepting appeals against rejection decisions, and that the new conditions in Syria are not considered a sufficient reason to impose a comprehensive deportation ban, especially against healthy young men.

Since the end of September, the office has returned to deciding on the cases of this specific group, confirming the possibility of issuing final rejection decisions unless the applications are accompanied by genuine individual justifications related to direct danger or persecution.


Government Pressure to Activate Deportation

In this context, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz continues to push for the resumption of deportation operations to Syria as soon as possible, while Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt stated that Berlin is working on agreements to arrange deportation mechanisms.

Dobrindt previously confirmed that he aims to reach an agreement before the end of the year that allows for the deportation of criminals first, and then later expand to include those without a legal basis for residence in the country.