Syrians living in Germany have called on authorities to allow them to visit their homeland without risking their temporary protection status.
This is reported by The Guardian.
Since the fall of Bashar al-Assadʼs regime, many Syrians who previously left the country are considering returning home. The question is particularly acute for those who were unable to obtain citizenship of one of the European Union countries.
“People are afraid to go to Syria and lose their refugee or asylum-seeker status,” says Anwar al-Bunni, head of the Syrian Center for Legal Studies.
Citizens of any EU country can travel freely. However, migrants can be stripped of their protection status if it is found that they have returned to their home country. The German government is being asked to take measures similar to those taken for Ukrainians in Europe. Syrians without German citizenship want to briefly leave for their homeland without risk.
The trips are needed to reconnect with relatives, assess the condition of property and the security situation. German Interior Minister Nancy Feser suggested that Syrians would be able to visit their homeland once without losing their status.
According to the study, around 80 000 Syrians in Germany work in sectors with a labor shortage. Germany also employs more than 5 000 doctors of Syrian origin, and their return to their homeland could lead to a crisis in the medical sector.
- In early December, Germanyʼs Federal Office for Migration and Refugees froze the processing of asylum applications from Syrian citizens in the country, saying the situation was currently "unclear".
- Chancellor Olaf Scholz later said that Syrians who are "well integrated" into society "remain welcome" in Germany.
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