The outbreak of civil war in Syria, which followed the Arab Spring in 2011, quickly led to massive refugee flows. Thousands of citizens abandoned the country, risking their lives in the hands of human traffickers and crossing the Mediterranean with hopes of a better future. Greece found itself on the front line, facing an unprecedented migration wave. Over the following years, it granted international protection status to more than 147,000 Syrian citizens.
Today, approximately 5,600 Syrians continue to reside in facilities of the National Reception System and, together with Afghans, constitute the two most numerous ethnic groups of asylum seekers, according to official data from the Ministry of Migration and Asylum.
However, six months after the fall of the Assad regime and the establishment of a new government in Damascus, there appears to be a clear change in the handling of asylum applications from Syrian citizens. For the first time, rejection decisions have been issued, following individualized assessment of reasons for flight as well as personal characteristics of applicants. In certain cases—mainly involving Sunni Muslims, unmarried, without particular vulnerability and with family or other support networks in Damascus—it was determined that sufficient grounds no longer exist for maintaining refugee status.
Ministry of Migration and Asylum: New status quo regarding management of illegal arrivals
Thus, Greece becomes the second member state to begin, after Cyprus, issuing negative decisions for Syrian citizens. After Assad’s fall and the establishment of a new government in Syria, the decision was made to freeze procedures until further notice, in order to obtain more information about the situation in the country and create stability. For this reason, until recently, the only negative asylum decisions concerning Syrians involved applicants who posed a threat to national security and public order or had committed some felony offense. Now, it is judged that circumstances have changed.
Greece, implementing a strict but fair migration policy, is shaping a new status quo regarding the management of illegal arrivals, sources from the Ministry of Migration and Asylum tell APE-MPE, also referring to the new bill expected to come to Parliament for vote in the coming period.
Furthermore, Athens intends to review granted refugee statuses to Syrian citizens over the coming months and revoke those for which the grounds for granting them have ceased to exist.
In a statement to the newspaper “Proto Thema” on Sunday, the Minister of Migration and Asylum emphasizes: “Greece was the first country in Europe that after the fall of the Assad regime in Syria proceeded to freeze the examination of asylum applications from Syrian citizens, as well as their careful re-examination, thus showing that we will not tolerate abuse of International Protection. Just a few days ago, the first negative decisions were issued for applicants from Syria, after considering their reason for flight in combination with their personal characteristics. Thus, Greece becomes the second member state to begin, after Cyprus, issuing negative decisions for Syrian citizens.”
