Overview
- By the end of August, 1,867 people had returned to Syria with federal support, up from 804 by late May but still a small share of the Syrian population in Germany.
- Syrians filed 17,650 asylum applications in Germany from January through August, while the register recorded roughly 955,000 Syrian nationals living in the country at end‑July.
- Routine decisions on Syrian asylum cases have largely been paused since December 2024, leaving 53,187 procedures pending, and Germany has not carried out removals to Syria since 2012.
- CDU figures, including Marc Henrichmann and Alexander Throm, call for stronger incentives and social‑benefit changes to raise departures, as federal and state programs offer financial support such as REAG/GARP payments.
- EU asylum applications fell 23% in the first half of 2025 to 399,000, Germany’s intake dropped about 43% and is now third behind France and Spain, and Venezuela replaced Syria as the top origin of new applicants.