Belgium sees voluntary return of over 100 Syrians to home country in 2025
A total of 111 Syrian people have voluntarily returned to their homeland since the start of the year, figures from asylum agency Fedasil show. The fall of the Assad regime appears to be the main reason for their return.
Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad was overthrown by rebels in Damascus on 9 December last year. He belongs to the Alawite religious community, a religious minority in the region. Ahmed al-Sharaa, the country’s new leader, is a Sunni.
Returns following end of regime
The regime change seems to be the main reason for the increase in the number of voluntary returns. In 2024, only two people returned from Belgium, but this year there are already more than 100.
According to Fedasil, 18 other Syrians have booked a flight and 16 are “interested” in returning home. That would bring the total for 2025 to 145 returnees.
Since the rebels seized power, the processing of asylum applications from Syria has been put on hold in Belgium because the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons does not have “sufficient objective information” about the situation in the region.
The suspension is due to last until the end of this month, and consultations will soon take place on a possible extension of the measure. It remains unclear whether the processing of Syrian asylum applications will resume in August.
© PHOTO ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP
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