BAMF sends withdrawal notices to numerous Syrians in Germany

The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) is currently withdrawing the protection status of numerous Syrians in Germany. This emerges from a 16-page decision from September, which is available to “Bild”. According to the newspaper, those affected are Syrians who have come to the attention of the police or who have temporarily left Germany and returned.

In the letter, the authority makes three decisions: “The refugee status granted will be withdrawn.” “Subsidiary protection status is not granted.” And: “There are no bans on deportation under the Residence Act.”

The BAMF cites the decisive reason as being that the fall of the Assad regime ended the civil war in Syria. This caused a significant change in the actual circumstances. According to “Bild”, the protection status of potentially hundreds of thousands of Syrians in Germany could expire.

In the spring, Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) named the return of 80 percent of the more than 900,000 Syrians in Germany to their home country as a goal. According to calculations by the Taxpayers' Association, there is a potential savings of six billion euros per year. According to the Federal Employment Agency's migration monitor, around 415,000 Syrians in Germany receive transfer benefits.

According to the BAMF, the interim government has control over large parts of the country and is internationally recognized. Other groups, including the terrorist militia “Islamic State” (IS), represented a security policy challenge, but “not a real alternative to power”. Citing figures from the UN refugee agency UNHCR, the decision names 1,546,317 people who returned to Syria between the fall of the Assad government in December 2024 and March 2026.

At one point the BAMF categorizes the general risk of war mathematically. Between December 2024 and April 2026, at least 698 people were killed and 1,193 injured in Syria. With a population of 24.4 million people, this results in a risk of homicide of 0.017 percent.

According to the authority, Syria faces food shortages, high costs of living, a lack of housing and electricity supply problems. For a family of five outside the capital, the notice states costs of around 554 euros per month. Nevertheless, the BAMF considers a permanent return to be reasonable in principle: “Overall, there is therefore no existential emergency.”

The decision also refers to programs for voluntary returnees that Germany finances. The travel allowance is 200 euros for adults and 100 euros for those under 18. In addition, there is 1,000 euros in start-up assistance per adult and 500 euros per minor, for a total of a maximum of 4,000 euros per family.

The BAMF does not threaten deportation in the notice. The last paragraph states: “A deportation threat will not be issued because the Federal Office does not have the necessary legal basis for this.” Many of those affected are legally defending themselves against the loss of their protected status. Asylum lawyer Philipp Pruy told "Bild": "We have been seeing a sharp increase in de-recognition procedures among Syrians for several weeks. There is currently a massive wave of lawsuits heading towards the administrative courts."

According to the latest figures, there are currently 915,840 Syrian citizens living in Germany. 6,947 Syrians have left the country since the fall of the Assad regime.