Germany to follow Austria and deport convicted Syrians
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Germany will begin deporting Syrians with criminal records, the interior ministry said on Saturday, following Austria's move earlier this week to become the first EU country in years to do so.
The ministry had instructed the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) to take action against "dangerous Syrian individuals and delinquents," a spokesman told AFP , confirming a report of German newspaper Die Welt .
The spokesman stressed that committing serious crimes meant one was excluded from the protection afforded by asylum and could lead to the revocation of any such status already granted.
An agreement reached by the coalition made up of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives and the Social Democrats provided for deportations to Afghanistan and Syria "starting with delinquents and people considered a threat," the spokesman added.
To that end, the ministry was in contact with the relevant Syrian authorities, he said.
Between January and May, the BAMF has opened more than 3,500 procedures that could lead to the revocation of asylum rights granted to Syrian nationals, the ministry said in an answer to a question in parliament.
Refugee status had been withdrawn in 57 cases and lower-level protection in 22 other cases, said the ministry.
During the same period, around 800 Syrians have returned home as part of a voluntary repatriation programme funded by Germany, to which 2,000 have so far signed up.
Around a million Syrians live in Germany, most of whom arrived during the major exodus between 2015 and 2016.
But since the December 2024 fall of President Bashar al-Assad, several European countries, including Austria and Germany, have suspended asylum procedures as far-right parties have campaigned on the issue.
Austria's interior ministry on Thursday deported a Syrian criminal convict back to Syria, saying it was the first EU country to do so officially "in recent years."
Germany has in recent months suffered several deadly attacks by jihadists using bladed weapons as well as far-right violence, which has pushed the issue of security up the political agenda.
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