EU adjusts Syrian asylum criteria after power shift
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The European Union released on Wednesday updated guidance on asylum applications submitted by Syrian nationals, reflecting shifting conditions in Syria nearly one year after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
The changes are expected to influence the outcomes of approximately 110,000 pending Syrian asylum cases across the EU, Norway, and Switzerland.
According to the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA), individuals who were previously considered at particular risk under Assad’s rule—such as political opponents and military service evaders—“are no longer at risk of persecution” under the country’s new authorities.
However, the agency warned that members of several communities may now face heightened dangers in post-Assad Syria. These include people affiliated with the former government, as well as members of ethnic-religious minorities such as Alawites, Christians, and Druze.
The updated assessment comes as Syrian asylum applications in Europe have sharply declined—from 16,000 in October 2024, just before Assad’s fall, to 3,500 in September 2025. Still, Syrians remain the largest group with unresolved first-instance cases.
The EUAA described the situation in Syria as “improved but volatile,” noting that indiscriminate violence persists in a number of regions. Despite ongoing instability, the agency said it now considers Damascus safe for return.
The UN estimates that more than one million Syrians have returned from abroad since December 2024, while nearly two million internally displaced people have gone back to their home regions.
Syria’s conflict, which began in March 2011, resulted in nearly 500,000 deaths and displaced half the population. Over five million Syrians fled the country, creating one of the world’s largest refugee crises, including a major influx into Europe in 2015.
Between 2012 and mid-2025, EU states, Norway, and Switzerland granted refugee status to around 704,900 Syrians.
Assad was toppled in December 2024 by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) forces, raising hopes for stabilization. However, the months that followed saw a surge in sectarian attacks, particularly against Alawite communities in the coastal region and Druze residents of Suwayda, killing hundreds.
Despite the return of large numbers of displaced Syrians, security conditions remain uneven across the country, prompting the EUAA to refine its guidance on who remains at risk and who may safely return.