The German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) aims to more strongly encourage voluntary returns to Syria. According to the agency, the central return program will be opened for Syrians as soon as possible. Currently, the program is being intensively reviewed and prepared, the BAMF told the Spiegel.
The federal government and states will cover travel costs of up to 200 euros per person and a start-up aid of up to 4,000 euros per family from the so-called REAG/GARP pots. However, in March 2012, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) had decided to remove Syria from the program’s country list, deeming voluntary returns to the country too dangerous.
Since then, the federal government has only indirectly supported returns to Syria: federal states with their own return programs could have a part of their costs reimbursed by the federal government. In 2022, this applied to 64 people from Syria, in 2023 to 75, and by the end of November this year, to 49. In 2023, ten federal states made use of the cost reimbursement offer, while the others did not submit an application to the federal government.
The IOM is no longer an obstacle to direct return support from the federal government. As of the new year, the BAMF has taken over the REAG/GARP administration from the IOM, explicitly with the intention of enabling the inclusion of Syria and other countries suspended by the IOM in the program in the future. The CDU Bundestag member Jens Spahn had faced criticism for immediately demanding a 1,000-euro handout for returnees after the power shift in Syria.