Back to Syria?

At Refugees Welcome, we have received many inquiries from Syrians living in Denmark who are considering returning to Syria – either to visit missing family members, to simply see their homeland again after many years, or to move back to the country permanently. However, there are many questions, and the answers are complicated. 

In this article, we explain the legal and financial options, and we present the results of a large study conducted by UNHCR on the current considerations of Syrian refugees throughout Europe.

Support from the Danish state for permanent repatriation

If you have a residence permit in Denmark as a refugee or via family reunification, you can apply for a fairly significant amount of repatriation support from the Danish state if you decide to move back to your home country. This applies regardless of whether you have temporary residence, permanent residence or have even obtained Danish citizenship. However, this requires that you give up your residence permit in Denmark (in some cases, there is a period for regretting the decision).

The condition for receiving money for repatriation is that you renounce your residence permit in Denmark

The amount is calculated individually, and support is given to both children and adults. The basic amount is 160,000 DKK per adult, but with various extra support to for instance travel, school and medicine, the total amount for a whole family is often between half a million and a full million DKK. You usually receive the first installment upon departure and the second installment after a year, and after that you can have health insurance paid for up to 4 years, and there is also the possibility of receiving certain forms of pension for even more years. If you have savings of more than 50,000 DKK the amount will be deducted.

For countries that are affected by sanctions, however, it is often not possible to transfer money after arrival, and people will often choose another solution where you get the full amount upon departure and cannot regret the decision (so-called flexible payment). Certain banks cannot transfer to certain countries even if there are no sanctions, and this may also prevent the payment of the second installment.
 
The scheme is not new, it has been in operation for many years, there has been increasing interest in it, and there are no plans to stop it. It is therefore not something that you as a Syrian refugee need to decide on right now – it is an option that you can always keep in mind.

Even in the unlikely event that you lose your residence permit in the future, you can still apply for repatriation support if your permit is withdrawn or not extended. As a refugee, your case will automatically be referred to the Refugee Appeals Board, and you can apply for repatriation support before the expiry of the final departure deadline from the Board. If you have residence due to family reunification and the permit is withdrawn or not extended, it is important that you appeal the decision to the Immigration Appeals Board within 7 days of the Immigration Service's decision in order to have the departure deadline postponed until the Board processes the case. You have the right to apply for repatriation support while the case is being processed by the Immigration Appeals Board.

The DRC Danish Refugee Council is responsible for the advice and proposes for approval of support. The calculation of the final support amount and the actual payment are handled by your municipality.

Asking for advice from DRC does not pose any risk to your current residence permit

If you are considering doing so, you can always fill out a form on the website atvendehjem.dk and get a counseling interview. You can also get counseling in languages other than Danish. The immigration authorities will not know anything about the inquiry, and it will not affect your case in any way.

Since December 2024, DRC has received inquiries from more than 2,600 Syrians who are considering returning, and more than 800 interviews have already been held. A huge increase compared to the previous year, and you must therefore expect some waiting time.
 
In the first 5 months of 2025, 187 people have received repatriation support, of which 122 were Syrians. The previous year the total number was 304, of which 93 were Syrians. See the numbers here.

Can you regret it?

It sounds appealing to get a lot of money and return to your home country, now that the hated dictator is gone. But it is a big decision, and about one in ten ends up regretting it – which may prove impossible. You can only regret it within a certain period, and in any case the entire amount received must be paid back, which can put you in debt for many years. If you receive the full amount at once on flexible payment, it is not possible to regret.

The entire amount must be paid back if you are allowed to regret and return to Denmark

In some cases, life in the home country turns out to be even more difficult than expected, and it is always hard to return after many years in a completely different culture. Children in particular have a hard time adjusting when they have become accustomed to the European way of life. You don't have much network left, and many people consider you a coward who ran away when things got bad. Rumors quickly spread that you have lots of money from Europe, which creates both an expectation of helping others and a high risk of robbery and kidnapping.

A refugee family often consists of 2-3 generations plus in-laws, and there can be a big difference in the individual family members' attachment to their home country and Denmark, respectively. Children and young people have gone to Danish school and usually feel very Danish - they will be nervous about losing everything they have. Older people, on the other hand, have strong ties to their home country, and have often had difficulty learning the Danish language and finding work. It is possible to repatriate individually, but most families naturally want to live in the same country.

Possibility to visit

If you have been granted asylum (residence under articles 7 or 8), you should think carefully before travelling back to your home country, as it may affect your residence permit, and in some cases you may lose it. However, there are differences between individual situations, see below. If you have a permit based on family reunification, you can visit Syria freely – except for the areas that are covered by a general travel ban.
 
• If you have obtained permanent residence AND were granted asylum at least 10 years ago, you are free to travel back to visit without it affecting your residence permit in Denmark. But first you must have the travel restriction removed from your passport by the Danish Immigration Service, and you must be prepared for the possibility of being called for an interview with the Danish Immigration Service when you return.

• If you still only have temporary residence, OR it has been less than 10 years since you were granted asylum, you must first contact the DRC repatriation team and say that you would like to go on a clarification trip. They will then help you get a temporary removal of the travel restriction and a return permit from the Danish Immigration Service before you leave. You can be away for a maximum of 8 weeks, and neither DRC or your municipality will pay the travel expenses. If you receive allowances from the municipality, they money can be kept for you during the visit.
 
In both cases, you must also make sure that you have the necessary documents to be allowed into Syria – and a transit country such as Jordan, as there are no direct connections.
 
DRC has over the years arranged joint clarification trips to, among others, Bosnia and Iraq, but there are currently no plans for such trips to Syria. You must therefore arrange your own flights, accommodation, etc.

What are the thoughts among Syrian refugees in Europe?

In May 2025, the UN refugee agency UNHCR published a study on the thoughts of Syrian refugees with and without residence permits in Europe after the fall of Assad. A total of 4.2 million Syrians have fled the country, of which 1.3 million live in Europe, and there are still 140,000 awaiting the outcome of their asylum applications. Many have already returned to Syria from Lebanon and Turkey, but far fewer from Europe.

A new movement is underway, where those who previously worked for the Assad regime are now being attacked and fear future reprisals. The vast majority of those who have participated in the survey have fled the Assad regime and have spent many years outside Syria.

UNHCR has asked 3,700 Syrian refugees in Europe about their plans and considerations after the fall of Assad

3,700 Syrians across Europe have replied to the questions, representing 17,300 people through their households. In addition, 150 focus groups were established. Most participants were from the Netherlands, Austria and Germany, with only a very few from Denmark.

Key figures from the survey:

• 82% have some form of asylum status, 10% are still asylum seekers.

• 40% are in work, 40% are students or at language school, 13% are unemployed.

• 81% do not consider returning to Syria in the next 12 months, but will stay in the host country.

• Only 3% plan to return permanently in the next 12 months. Among them, the most important motivation is to be reunited with family and friends.

• The most common reason for not wanting to return is security risk, followed by fear of poor economic and social conditions.

• 44% would like to return to visit if possible without losing their residence status in the host country. However, an equally large proportion would not return to visit. There is great uncertainty about the legal consequences of returning to visit, and there may also be differences between individual European countries.
 
Security risk
Concerns about the future and security in Syria were prominent among the responses. There is great doubt about the future political situation in Syria, which remains unstable and unpredictable, especially for minority groups (Alawites, Druze, Kurds, Palestinians). The Kurdish autonomy is not recognized by the new government, ISIS is still active, and thousands of Druze and Alawites have been killed recently. Many are nervous about their own safety, even during short visits. Israel dropped bombs on Damascus shortly before this article was published.

Practicalities and Integration
Syria is on its knees after 13 years of civil war. Massive bombings, sanctions and deep poverty have left their mark on the beautiful country. Much of the infrastructure is destroyed, and access to electricity, water, etc. is a major problem. If you return, even for a visit of a few months, you will have to find a place to live, which few have after many years in exile. If you are considering moving back permanently, it will be difficult to find an income. An education obtained in the host country may be worthless in Syria. Health services are extremely limited, schooling is inadequate, and many children do not read and write Arabic at an age-appropriate level.

But there are also a number of less obvious problems. Syrian refugees in Europe often support their remaining family in Syria or neighbouring countries financially, and therefore a decision to repatriate affects more than just themselves.

The best integrated are those who are least likely to want to return

The Syrians who have been best integrated into Europe in terms of language, education and jobs are the least likely to return. Conversely, it is easiest for those who have already obtained citizenship in Europe, because they do not have to fear losing their residence status. However, there are far fewer of them in Denmark than in the rest of the EU due to our high requirements.

Women are more vulnerable when returning home than men: They rarely own property themselves, and they often do not have an independent income. In many families, it is the man who makes the decision to return, perhaps even directly against his wife's will. Although Syrian women have found jobs in Europe to a much lesser extent than men, they have more readily accepted the opportunity to get an education, and quite a few have been divorced from their husbands - this alone can make it difficult to return.

Older Syrians are in the most difficult situation. They often have poor health and trauma from the war, they have not always managed to support themselves in Europe, they are at greater risk of losing their residence permit, and they will have difficulty coping in Syria. But they are the ones who have the greatest desire to return.

At Refugees Welcome, we are always happy to answer individual questions in our legal advice team.