Government wants more Syrians to return – but many have already become Swedish citizens

The Swedish government, like several other EU countries, wants to increase the return to Syria after the Assad regime fell over a year ago. However, the effort to raise the repatriation allowance does not reach the majority of the target group – almost half of the Syrians who have come to Sweden since 2011 are now Swedish citizens and are not covered by the support or the possibility of being deported for crimes. Criminals with dual citizenship cannot be deported there either.

During the week, Minister for International Development Cooperation Benjamin Dousa (M) and Minister for Migration Johan Forssell (M) visited Syria to meet with the new government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has a past as an al-Qaeda terrorist.

The purpose, according to Swedish government representatives, is to establish a functioning cooperation on repatriation and enable the deportation of Syrian citizens who have been convicted of crimes or are considered a security threat in Sweden.

– Every country has an obligation to receive its own citizens. It has previously been difficult to enforce deportations, but with the new agreement, we have agreed to cooperate on this, says Minister for Migration Johan Forssell in an interview with Sveriges Radio.

Forssell emphasizes that the Swedish government prioritizes the ability to deport persons without Swedish citizenship who have committed crimes. However, he does not want to speculate on the exact increase or how many it might involve.

Raised repatriation allowance – but only for those without citizenship

At the same time, the government has launched a significantly raised repatriation allowance for those who voluntarily want to return to Syria. However, the allowance only applies to individuals who are not Swedish citizens.

Puff: State visit to Syria would pave the way for more deportations. But the outcome of both that and the repatriation allowance may be meager

This means that a large part of the Syrians who have come to Sweden in the last 14 years are not affected. Of the nearly 200,000 people who have immigrated from Syria, over half have already become Swedish citizens. In fact, Syrians have been among the groups most frequently granted Swedish citizenship for several years.

These individuals cannot be deported for crimes, as long as they retain their Swedish citizenship, and they also do not have the right to a repatriation allowance. The fact that they are also Syrian citizens changes nothing.

According to the ministers, at present, it only concerns about a hundred Syrian citizens who have committed crimes in Sweden and whom the government now wants Syria to accept.

Cool interest among Syrians in Sweden to return

Despite changes in Syria and political statements about repatriation, both lawyers and authorities describe a low interest among Syrians in Sweden to return. In Södertälje, where Syrians make up over eight percent of the population, migration lawyers have received many calls from concerned clients after the Swedish Migration Agency paused decisions in Syrian cases pending new assessments.

At the same time, SVT reports that it is still too early to say whether refugee status will be reconsidered, and international law requires a stable and long-term sustainable security change before this can happen.

Deportations are complicated by identity issues

A practical difficulty for the repatriation work is that many of the Syrians who sought asylum during the most intense years of the war lacked identity documents. For several years, oral statements were accepted as the basis for establishing a person’s identity.

Former al-Qaeda leader who is now the President of Syria and uses the name Ahmed al-Sharaa. Image: Azerbaijan’s press service.

Forssell explains to SR that identity must be clarified in each individual case. If uncertainties persist, it may be difficult to enforce a deportation, even with an agreement in place.

Sweden has long had a high proportion of “unclear” identities in asylum cases, something that both authorities and politicians have pointed out as an obstacle to repatriation work. In the end, it is also the Swedish Migration Agency and the migration courts – not the government – that decide who is deported and who is allowed to stay due to enforcement obstacles.

EU trend: more countries pushing for repatriation

Sweden is not alone in wanting to increase repatriation. In Germany, Chancellor Friedrich Merz has openly declared that Syrians are expected to return in the long run when the country stabilizes after the change of power. The debate on reconsidered residence permits has flared up in several European countries.

In Sweden, the Sweden Democrats have demanded that the residence permits of Syrians can be revoked after the regime change. The government has not yet taken a position on the issue but says that the situation in Syria will be closely monitored.

2025 and 2026 “the years when the changes are noticeable”

Minister for Migration Forssell has said in interviews and social media that the government’s migration policy is now entering a phase where investigations and legislative proposals will be implemented in actual legislation.

– This is when it happens – 2025 and 2026 will be the years when all changes are launched.

However, several obstacles remain for the repatriation issue: security assessments, identity checks, legal limitations on citizenship – and above all, the weak willingness among Syrians in Sweden to return, despite Syria’s new political landscape and despite previously citing the now ousted Assad regime as the reason for fleeing to Sweden.