Published 9 December 2024 at 13.39
Domestic. Germany will with immediate effect stop all decisions on asylum applications from Syrian citizens. Austria goes further by halting all asylum procedures and family immigration for Syrians and launching a repatriation program for the ethnic group.
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The news that al-Qaeda has defeated the secular Assad -regime in Syria has caused Syrian immigrants to celebrate around Europe – scenes that aroused strong emotions.
It has also caused several countries to quickly reconsider their immigration policies regarding Syrians. Including Germany, which has received approximately one million Syrians.
Germany's migration authority, Bamf, now states that it has temporarily stopped all decisions on asylum applications from Syrians. The decision affects approximately 47,000 pending applications, according to Die Welt. The authority justifies the decision by saying that the situation in Syria is too unclear to be able to assess protection grounds.
At the same time, Austria has announced that it is preparing an “orderly program for the return and deportation” of Syrians, writes Die Welt. The country's interior minister has been tasked with pausing all asylum processes for Syrians and reviewing previous decisions.
The right-wing party FPÖ's party leader Herbert Kickl believes that the Syrians must return to their homeland because the basis for asylum has been lost due to the overthrow of Assad.< /p>
Family reunions have also been stopped until further notice. There are currently around 95,000 Syrians in Austria, of which 12,871 have applied for asylum in 2024.