One million Syrians in Germany are the focus of an intense political debate about the future

Syrians across Germany celebrated in the streets the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad. But now many will feel less cheerful, as some politicians question their future in Germany.

There are about one million people holding a Syrian passport in Germany. Most of them came in 2015-16, after Angela Merkel's government made the decision not to close Germany's borders to refugees fleeing the civil war in Syria.

The prevailing mood at the time was that Germany would succeed in this. The climate now is somewhat different.

Within hours of news of Assad's fall, an intense political debate erupted in Germany over whether Syrian refugees should return to Syria.

Early elections are scheduled to be held in Germany on February 23. With immigration topping the polls on voter concerns, some politicians clearly feel that being tough on Syrian refugees will win them votes.

Conservative hardliners and far-right politicians say that if Syrians had fled to Germany to escape Assad, they can now immediately return to Syria.

Some right-wingers want to stop granting asylum to people coming from Syria immediately.

Markus Söder, the conservative leader of the state of Bavaria, said: “If the reason for asylum disappears, there is no longer any legal basis for staying in the country.”

Jens Spahn, deputy leader of the CDU's conservative parliamentary group, suggested chartering planes and giving Syrians €1,000 (£825) to leave the country.

Alice Weidel, leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany party, said on the X website: “Everyone in Germany celebrating ‘Free Syria’ no longer has any reason to flee. They must return to Syria immediately.”

Sarah Wagenknecht, who this year created a new far-left anti-immigrant populist party, echoed the AfD's rhetoric.

She said in an interview with the German magazine Stern: “I expect that the Syrians, who are here celebrating the Islamists seizing power, will return to their homeland as soon as possible.”

Meanwhile, left-wing and Green politicians expressed their anger, calling such comments irresponsible, populist and inappropriate, especially in light of how unclear the situation in Syria is.

Annalena Baerbock, German Foreign Minister from the Green Party, said: “Anyone who tries to misuse the current situation in Syria for their own partisan political purposes has lost touch with reality in the Middle East.”

“No one can predict today – and in the next few days – what will happen in Syria and what this means for security policy.”

Some leftists were more blunt. “All those who are now starting to talk about deportations to Syria are, pardon the language, just corrupt scoundrels,” Jan van Aken, leader of the radical left-wing Link party, told reporters.

Germany's Federal Office for Migration and Refugees on Monday suspended all pending applications from Syrian asylum seekers.

This affects 47,270 Syrians in Germany, awaiting a response to their asylum application.

In a written statement to the BBC, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees said it was temporarily postponing decisions on applicants from Syria because the situation in Syria was very unclear. “Based on the current situation and unexpected developments, a final decision on the outcome of the asylum procedure cannot currently be made.”

Officials say that if the situation becomes more stable, applications will be evaluated again, perhaps using different criteria.

Studies indicate that Syrians who arrived a decade ago are young, with an average age of 25, and tend to have higher levels of education and good employment rates.

Syrian men who arrived in 2015 have higher employment rates than German-born men.

Many Syrians work in the health care field, including 5,000 Syrian doctors. If the situation in Syria is unstable, they are unlikely to want to leave.

Many have also obtained German citizenship, meaning they have learned the German language and are supporting themselves financially: 143,000 Syrians obtained German citizenship between 2021 and 2023, making up the largest nationality to obtain a German passport.

But about 700,000 Syrians are still classified as different types of asylum seekers. Some are registered as refugees, others have been granted political asylum, while many have what is called subsidiary protection, meaning their country of origin is unsafe.

Freezing decisions on pending applications does not mean that Germany will necessarily stop receiving refugees from Syria once the situation becomes clearer.

This should not currently affect those who have already been granted asylum or refugee status.

But some politicians say that once the country of origin is no longer dangerous, refugees can return home. In many cases this may mean withdrawing the existing right to remain.

A decade ago, Germany opened its arms to the Syrians. Now, a fierce and polarized political debate will only add to the uncertainty many already feel.