Berlin, Germany – A portion of Syrians who fled to Germany may have to return to their homeland under certain conditions, according to German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser.
“As our law stipulates, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) will review and revoke protection grants if people no longer need this protection in Germany because the situation in Syria has stabilized,” Faeser told the newspapers of the Funke Mediengruppe in a report published on Sunday.
She emphasised that this would apply to those who do not have the right to stay for other reasons, such as work or education, and do not voluntarily return to Syria.
The Foreign Office and the Interior Ministry are working together to gain a clearer picture of the situation in Syria following the overthrow of long-term ruler Bashar al-Assad.
“We are particularly focused on security issues,” said Faeser. The German government is also closely coordinating with European and international partners.
“Those who are well integrated, employed, have learned German, and found a new home here should be allowed to stay in Germany,” Faeser said.
People wishing to return should be supported. Criminals and Islamists should be deported as quickly as possible. The legal possibilities for this have been significantly expanded and will be utilised as soon as the situation in Syria allows, she added.
About 975,000 Syrians currently live in Germany, according to figures from Faeser’s ministry. Most arrived after 2015 due to the Syrian civil war. More than 300,000 of them have subsidiary protection status. They were thus not admitted due to individual persecution but because of the civil war in their homeland.
BAMF recently decided, due to the dynamic developments in Syria, to temporarily stop making decisions on asylum claims for peopel from Syria.