Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, only 464 Syrians have voluntarily left Germany. While hundreds of thousands of Syrians are returning to their homeland from neighbouring countries, most have chosen to stay in Germany for now.
According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, around 974,100 Syrian nationals were living in Germany at the end of October 2024. Most of them came to the country as a result of the civil war that began in 2011. But since the end of the hostilities, only 464 Syrians have returned to their homeland with the support of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), the ministry said. A ministry spokesperson also added, however, that not all departures are recorded by the authorities.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) estimates that around 400,000 Syrians have returned to Syria from neighbouring countries such as Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan since December.
But Syrians who had fled the Assad dictatorship are eligible for relatively generous benefits in Germany. A German federal programme provides various forms of financial assistance to them, including a start-up grant of €1,000 for adults, and €500 for minors. In addition, there is a travel allowance of €200 for adults and €100 for children, as well as the reimbursement of additional medical expenses of up to €2,000. A maximum of €4,000 per family will be paid as start-up assistance.
As we reported, the German government is about to introduce a regulation that would allow Syrian refugees to travel to Syria temporarily without losing their protection status, but only under strict conditions. According to the Interior Ministry, such trips are intended to “prepare for a permanent return,” not for family visits or holidays.
