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16-07-2025
LONDON: The UK is to start processing Syrian asylum claims again, more than seven months after decisions were paused following the fall of the Assad regime.
Asylum minister Dame Angela Eagle said the Home Office had “worked to lift the pause as soon as there was sufficient information to make accurate and well-evidenced determinations”.
She said claims could now be processed and returns to Syria conducted in line with this.
Media understands more than 20 asylum seekers who had been living in the UK have already voluntarily returned to Syria this year and that thousands of others could now also be in scope for returns.
Ministers hope the first enforced returns to Syria could take place before the end of the year, with a senior Home Office source adding that they “wouldn’t say it’s a million miles away”.
The government has published updated guidance for officials to make decisions on Syrian claims.
The UK paused decisions on Syrian claims for asylum and permanent settlement in December, after President Bashar al-Assad was overthrown by a rebel offensive led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), following years of civil war.
In a written statement, Dame Angela said the pause “was a necessary step while there was no stable, objective information available to make robust assessments of risk on return to Syria”.
However, the move left more than 7,000 Syrians waiting for a decision on an asylum claim in limbo.
The majority of these are living in government-funded accommodation, such as hotels. The pause also applied to Syrians who had already been granted refugee status and were initially given the right to stay in the UK for five years before being able to apply for permanent settlement.
Campaigners say being left with this temporary status makes it harder for people to secure a job or housing.
Welcoming the move, Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council charity, said; we know the pause in decision making had left Syrian people trapped in further limbo, unable to work, move on with their lives and fearing for their future.
However, the situation in Syria continues to be unstable and we urge the government to ensure that every asylum application is assessed on a case-by-case basis, ensuring the safety and protection of Syrians who would face extreme risk if they are returned.”
Figures affiliated with HTS which is designated a terrorist group by the UK, now run the country, with HTS leader Ahmad al-Sharaa named as Syria’s interim president earlier this year.
Under the United Nations Refugee Convention, an individual must have a “well-founded fear of persecution” to be granted asylum and refugee status.
The Home Office’s updated guidance on Syria states that a “breakdown in law and order or uncertain security situations do not in themselves give rise to a well-founded fear of persecution”.
“There are not substantial grounds for believing there is a real risk of serious harm in Syria because of a serious and individual threat to a civilian’s life or person by reason of indiscriminate violence in a situation of international or internal armed conflict,” it adds.
“All cases must be considered on their individual facts, with the onus on the person to demonstrate they face persecution or serious harm.” (Int’l News Desk)
