A Cologne court has rejected the asylum claim of a Syrian national, ruling that he no longer faces persecution from the Assad regime or the new transitional government in Damascus.
The court also found that the plaintiff does not face existential hardship, as he would receive return assistance if he chose voluntary repatriation.
The plaintiff—originally from the Hasakah governorate in northeastern Syria—lives in Germany, with family members still residing in Syria. He applied for asylum in October 2023, but the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) rejected his request in April 2025 and threatened deportation, arguing that the situation in Syria had changed significantly since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024.
Before Assad’s fall, Syrians were almost universally granted asylum, the court noted. The plaintiff filed a lawsuit against the refusal in May 2025, but the Cologne Administrative Court dismissed his case.
The court emphasized that the plaintiff could sustain his livelihood while living with his family and would receive financial and material support if he returned voluntarily.
It concluded that he would not face destitution once such support ends, while citing improving economic conditions in Syria, with wages rising relative to falling food prices.
