Several political parties in the Bundestag (German parliament) have called for allowing Syrian refugees to take exploratory trips back to their home country.
According to Sebastian Fiedler, the SPD’s spokesperson for domestic policy, refugees should be allowed these trips so they can assess for themselves whether a permanent possibility of return exists. Fiedler told the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” (FAZ) that such visits would certainly also assist in addressing all questions surrounding the people’s involvement in Syria’s reconstruction efforts.
Filiz Polat, the parliamentary executive for the Green Party, also advocated for trial visits to their home country. Polat told the FAZ that the federal government should enable these journeys-regardless of the refugees’ current residence permit-and guarantee that no disadvantages result for the affected individuals.
The Left Party echoed this sentiment. Clara Bünger, the spokesperson for the Left Parliamentary Group on Migration Policy, noted that she had demanded “go-and-see visits” for Syrian men and women with protected status shortly after the fall of Assad. She criticized the federal government for refusing to allow such travel, contrasting this stance with Christian democratic leader Merz, who had reportedly made the racist demand that 80 percent of refugees from Syria must return.
However, the CDU/CSU coalition party opposes these exploratory trips. Alexander Throm, the CDU/CSU’s spokesperson for domestic policy, argued that anyone who travels beyond the scope of existing modern communication methods is clearly not in a situation of persecution. He stated that in such cases, the withdrawal of protective status is merely the logical consequence. Gottfried Curio, the AfD’s spokesperson for domestic policy, presented similar reasoning.
It is important to note the risks; refugees who travel to their country of origin risk losing their protected status in Germany. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) reported that in 2025, 2,593 revocation review procedures for Syrian nationals were initiated due to temporary trips home, with 708 of these occurring in the first quarter of the year alone. Statistically, the agency had not recorded how many Syrian refugees actually lost their protected status due to these visits.