Since late January, the federal police have been unable to deport a Syrian national from any German federal state because they have not received the necessary temporary travel documentation. This situation, according to “Welt am Sonntag”, citing security officials from both federal and state levels, suggests that the federal border police headquarters in Potsdam was neither able to deny nor confirm a request regarding the matter.
As reported to the newspaper, the federal police estimate that approximately 11,100 Syrian nationals in Germany are legally required to leave, based on figures from the end of March. Historically, since 2011, not a single one of the estimated million Syrian asylum immigrants had been repatriated. However, under Minister Dobrindt, the first four deportations destined for Syria-the country slowly recovering from civil war-occurred during December 2025 and January of the current year. This aligns with a commitment made by the Union and SPD coalition agreement a year prior, which promised deportations from Syria would begin with dangerous individuals and criminals.
Regarding the procedure, the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior informed “Welt am Sonntag” that repatriations to Syria currently differ from regular deportation processes primarily because the federal government took the lead early in the process. This included coordinating the entire procedure, including securing the necessary substitute travel papers from the country of origin, with the goal of building stable return routes.
However, difficulties persist. Roman Poseck, the Interior Minister of Hesse, noted that as of now, none of the 533 Syrians requiring deportation in Hesse could be rapidly returned because Syria has not issued the required temporary travel documents for repatriation in 2026. Poseck pledged that his state was well-prepared for regular deportations but added that he could only urge the federal government to create the necessary conditions through direct talks with the Syrian government.
In separate migration news, 3,850 Syrian applicants filed for asylum in Germany through the end of April this year. Furthermore, according to a confidential report from the Joint Analysis and Strategy Center for Irregular Migration, which the newspaper quoted, sustained smuggling via air routes has been documented since the Syrian airports were reconnected to international air traffic in 2025. This is notably observed through direct flights operated by the European airlines Dan Air and Air Mediterranean into Romania or Greece. The internal report also stated that, following relevant exploratory missions, the Lufthansa AG was already in concrete planning stages to establish direct flight connections to Germany.