Berlin – German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt announced on Sunday that Germany will revoke asylum rights from Syrian refugees who return to their homeland after receiving protection in Germany.
The minister stated that the return of Syrian refugees to their country indicates that the reasons for granting them asylum in Germany no longer exist.
He added that Germany will review all asylum applications submitted by Syrians in preparation for deporting those whose requests have been rejected. According to Bild, the review will begin with applications from able-bodied young men, whose cases will be prioritized in the process.
Dobrindt explained that the Interior Ministry is working to reach an agreement with the transitional Syrian government to facilitate deportation operations. The first phase will target convicted criminals, followed by additional groups of Syrians in subsequent stages, the German newspaper Bild reported.
The newspaper also noted that the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees will resume processing Syrian asylum applications, which had been frozen for years due to the war in Syria. This freeze had granted most Syrian refugees in Germany temporary protection since 2012.
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According to data from the German Interior Ministry, around 955,000 Syrians were living in Germany as of July 2025, marking a decrease of approximately 20,000 since the beginning of the year. The decline is attributed to some refugees voluntarily returning to Syria following the fall of the ousted regime.
Despite the decline, Bild reported that new asylum requests continue to arrive. Between January and August this year, 17,650 Syrians submitted new asylum applications.
In a related development, German police arrested a 14-year-old Syrian boy suspected of committing around 200 crimes in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein, including knife attacks, thefts, and assaults on police officers.
The Focus news outlet reported last Friday that the teenager was detained in the city of Husum after years of investigations into a gang known as the “Heide-Gang,” which had terrorized residents and was linked to a series of violent incidents and robberies near train stations.
The report added that the suspect began committing crimes at the age of nine and now faces charges including aggravated assault with a knife, theft, violent clashes, and attacks on police officers.
According to Focus, a juvenile court judge has issued a detention order against the teenager, who remains in custody at a juvenile facility pending trial.
