German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has stated that Syrians no longer have grounds to seek asylum in Germany following the end of the civil war in their country. He emphasized that they should be encouraged to return home to help rebuild their homeland.
During Syria’s 14-year civil war, Germany accepted more refugees than any other EU country. However, the Chancellor and members of his cabinet argue that the situation has changed since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government 11 months ago. On Tuesday, Merz said he expects a significant portion of the over 1 million Syrians living in Germany to return voluntarily.
“Now there is no longer a reason for asylum in Germany, and for this reason, we can also begin with repatriations,” he said, adding that those who refuse to return could face deportation “in the near future.”
Merz appears to be countering Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, who, following a visit to Damascus last week, expressed doubts that many Syrians would return given the ongoing destruction and instability in the country, which make a dignified existence difficult to imagine.
Wadephul had previously taken a firmer stance, supporting the government’s line as it seeks to curb the rise of the far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Few politicians are willing to address the potential impact of deportations in Germany, where hundreds of thousands of Syrians have successfully integrated, learned the language, and joined the workforce—a sector urgently needing recruits as Germany’s population rapidly ages.
More than 7,000 Syrian doctors work in the healthcare sector, often in rural areas that have been underserved in recent decades. Many of the 1.3 million Syrians living in Germany—almost a quarter of whom were born in the adopted country—have acquired citizenship, though most hold only temporary residence permits.
Only about 1,000 Syrians returned to their homeland with the support of federal aid in the first half of this year.
The issue has gained growing importance ahead of next year’s elections in five states, where the AfD is competing with the Christian Democrats and could secure state leadership positions for the first time.
The latest debate on the fate of refugees coincides with the arrest in Berlin over the weekend of a 22-year-old Syrian citizen suspected of planning an Islamist suicide attack in Germany. This incident is the latest in a series of events that have raised public concerns over security and migration.
