On September 8, 2025, the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) reported that Syrian asylum applications dropped by 66% during the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, with only 25,000 Syrian applications submitted. This decline pushed Germany down to third place behind France and Italy, amid a historic 23% drop in overall asylum applications to the EU.
The report noted that, for the first time in ten years, Venezuelan asylum applications surpassed those of Syrians.
The Syrian war has left behind nearly six million Syrian refugees worldwide, most of whom reside in neighboring countries—especially Turkey.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi stated on June 2, 2025, that around two million Syrian refugees have chosen to return to their homeland after fourteen years of war.
According to the Turkish Directorate of Migration, the number of Syrians who voluntarily returned to Syria after Assad’s fall has reached 250,000 to date.
On September 11, 2025, the Syrian News Agency reported that 300 Syrian refugees returned from Lebanon to their home provinces in Syria under the voluntary return program, marking the second convoy, according to a UNHCR media officer.
The UNHCR, in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), officially launched a voluntary return program targeting Syrian refugees in Lebanon. The program aims to:
- Support voluntary return as a durable solution
- Prevent secondary displacement through investment in return areas inside Syria
- Strengthen coordination between international and local actors to ensure sustainable reintegration
According to UNHCR, over 191,000 Syrian refugees have returned from Lebanon to Syria since Assad’s fall, with 17,000 more registering interest in the program. Additionally, over 120,000 refugee files were removed from UNHCR records due to confirmed or presumed returns.
In this context, following Assad’s fall, European countries adopted policies to encourage Syrian refugee returns, despite UN reservations. These measures ranged from cutting social benefits to voluntary return programs offering €2,000 in financial incentives.
Syria news report


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