Plans in Germany to give 7,000 euros as a voluntary departure bonus to Syrians

According to information from the Swiss newspaper "Neue Züricher Zeitung", a decision to grant an amount of 7,000 euros per person is imminent. Two representatives in the Federal Parliament (Bundestag) familiar with the plans confirmed the amount. To date, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees supports voluntary departure with an average amount of €1,000.

In addition, within the framework of the federal government and states' program for voluntary return, travel costs and travel assistance amounting to 200 euros for adults are included, as well as assistance to start a new life amounting to 1,000 euros. For families, the maximum aid is 4,000 euros.

The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees had proposed months ago to Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt to raise the value of the support. The new bonus is intended to particularly target single and unemployed men who have no prospects of staying in Germany.

The newspaper "Neue Zürcher Zeitung" considers that the draft budget for 2027, presented by Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil of the Social Democratic Party, includes an indication of the expected expansion of the program. Accordingly, the financial allocations for voluntary departure will increase from €38 million to €125 million. But it is still unclear whether this amount is entirely allocated to rewards for the return of Syrians, or whether it includes the entire return program.

According to the OE24 website, mathematically, an amount of 125 million euros is sufficient, if 7,000 euros are paid per person, to finance the departure of about 18,000 people, a number that far exceeds the numbers recorded so far.

15 thousand Syrians are obliged to leave

The number of Syrians returning is still small compared to the total number of Syrians residing in Germany. According to German government data, 4,426 Syrians were registered in the Central Register of Foreigners as of the end of June 2026 as having left Germany voluntarily, 2,736 of whom received financial support. During the first half of 2026, 2,843 Syrians received support to leave through the voluntary return programme.

Nearly one million people of Syrian origin live in Germany.

According to the newspaper "Neue Zürcher Zeitung", there are approximately 15,000 Syrians legally obligated to leave, and most of them hold "tolerant residence" status, which means temporarily suspending the implementation of deportation. In parallel, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees is scheduled to review the protection status granted to Syrians on a broader scale, and to withdraw protection status in some cases. This could lead to a higher number of people having to leave.

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt is also conducting negotiations with the new authorities in Damascus regarding the return of crime perpetrators and people whom the authorities consider a security risk to Syria.

What do other European countries offer to voluntary returnees?

Germany is not the only country adopting financial incentives to encourage voluntary returns. As part of a fixed-term procedure, Austria pays an amount of up to 3,000 euros. As for Denmark, it pays much higher amounts, up to 20 thousand euros. The Austrian "OE24" website quotes asylum law expert Daniel Timm that increasing the attractiveness of financial incentives could be a useful element within the return policy, but he warned against believing that money alone can solve the problem, saying that it is "not a magic solution."