Germany’s one million Syrians at centre of fierce political debate over future

Studies show that the Syrians who arrived a decade ago are young, on average 25 years old, and tend to have higher levels of education and good rates of employment.

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

Many Syrians work in healthcare, including 5,000 Syrian doctors. If the situation in Syria is unstable, it is unlikely they would want to leave.

Many have also received German citizenship, meaning they have learnt German and are financially supporting themselves: 143,000 Syrians received German citizenship between 2021 and 2023, forming the largest nationality to get a German passport.

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

The freeze on pending application decisions does not mean Germany will necessarily stop taking in refugees from Syria once the situation becomes clearer.

And it should not at the moment impact those who already have been granted asylum or refugee status. 



But some politicians argue that once the country of origin is no longer dangerous, then refugees can go back home. This could effectively mean in many cases withdrawing the current right to remain.

A decade ago Germany opened its arms to Syrians. Now, the ferocious and polarised political debate will only add to the uncertainty many are already feeling.