Overview
- In October, the federal asylum office issued 1,906 first-instance rejections for Syrian applicants, compared with 163 rejections in total from January through September.
- After pausing most Syrian decisions in December 2024, authorities resumed selective processing in late September, focusing on young, working-age, single men.
- The office cites a cautious trend in administrative courts upholding rejections and says deportation bans are not found in every case for healthy young men.
- Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt push to restart returns to Syria and report work on arrangements, with priority given to deporting offenders.
- The UN Human Rights Office warns of continued instability in Syria, while German data show fewer Syrian arrivals, more departures, and a sharp drop in net migration this year.