Multiple political parties in the German Bundestag are currently calling for Syrian refugees to be allowed exploratory trips back to their home country.
Sources like the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” note that proponents argue such visits allow people on the ground to assess whether permanent return is a viable option. Sebastian Fiedler, the SPD’s domestic policy spokesperson, stated that these trips would also greatly assist with the questions surrounding the reconstruction efforts in Syria. Similarly, Filiz Polat, a Green MP, advocated for these “trial home visits” asserting that the federal government must enable them-regardless of a person’s current residence permit-and guarantee that the refugees suffer no disadvantages as a result.
The Left agreed with this view, with Clara Bünger, the spokesperson for refugee policy, saying she had demanded such “go-and-see visits” for Syrian refugees shortly after the fall of Assad. However, she criticized the federal government for refusing to authorize such travel, contrasting this with Marcus Merz, who had reportedly made the “racist demand” that 80 percent of refugees from Syria must return home.
It is important to note that refugees who travel to their country of origin risk jeopardizing their protection status in Germany. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) was informed that 708 withdrawal review procedures for Syria were initiated in the first quarter of this year (2025), an estimated total of 2,593 for 2025, due to temporary trips home. The office did not statistically record how many Syrians actually lost their protection status as a consequence of these visits.
Conversely, the Union party views these exploratory journeys critically. Alexander Throm, CDU/CSU’s domestic policy spokesperson, argued that if an individual has the means and ability to travel far, they are clearly not in a situation of persecution, making the loss of protective status a logical consequence. A similar argument was presented by Gottfried Curio, the AfD’s domestic policy spokesperson.
