This blog was written and published on 11 December 2024

On 8 December 2024, millions of Syrians were greeted by the news of the fall of the Assad regime. Opposition forces, led by the militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) seized control, bringing an end to the former President Bashar al-Assad’s brutal dictatorship of 24 years.

The speed of this transition of power has taken many people by surprise with many asking questions about what happens next.

There are many Syrian people in the UK, as well as in other European countries and the rest of the world, who will be feeling confused and uncertain about what this means for them. This short blog explains the basics of the situation.

Decision to pause asylum decision-making 

After the news of the fall of the Assad regime reached media outlets across the world, several countries made announcements of their decisions to pause asylum decision making on claims from Syrian nationals. 

The UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency, which is the central UN body protecting refugees, displaced and stateless people) released a briefing on 10 December 2024, saying that pausing asylum decision making for Syrian claimants is acceptable, ‘as long as people can apply for asylum and are able to lodge asylum applications’. 

What does this mean for Syrians living in the UK?

Between 2011 and 2021, more than 30,000 Syrians were granted asylum in the UK. Syrian asylum claimants have had very high grant rates in the UK, of around 99%. Many have also been resettled under resettlement schemes. 

The Home Office country policy and information notes on Syria were withdrawn on 9 December 2024, and replaced with this statement: ‘Due to current events in Syria, we are reviewing the situation and will issue an update in due course’.

The UK has also followed other EU countries in announcing to news sources that it is pausing decisions on asylum claims from Syrian nationals. 

This means there are now around 6,500 Syrians living in the UK who are currently waiting for the outcome of their asylum claims, whose claims have now been paused.

In some cases, Syrian asylum seekers in the UK who have been waiting for years for a decision on their asylum claim, have had their claims paused immediately. We have heard stories of Syrian asylum seekers having their asylum substantive interview cancelled. This is certain to being causing fear and uncertainty among Syrians in the UK.

We believe that asylum processing of Syrian nationals should continue, and share the sentiment of the charity Asylum Aid, who said in their statement:

The government is in no position to assume the safety of individuals in such a volatile and developing situation. … The reasons for Syrian nationals claiming asylum in the UK are multi-faceted, complex and in no way limited solely to the atrocities committed by the Assad regime. The Home Office’s own Immigration Rules make clear that people should only be found to no longer be entitled to protection where a change of circumstances in their country of origin is ‘of such a significant and non-temporary nature that the refugee’s fear of persecution can no longer be regarded as well-founded’. It is far too early to make this assessment.

What is next?

Millions of Syrian refugees, and asylum seekers across the UK and the rest of the world will now face a very difficult set of decisions, with different implications. They will be trying to assess the situation, with a real lack of clear information available, about their safety. Syrian people must be given the space and time to make decisions without pressure. 

We join in calls for all Syrian asylum seekers whose claims have been paused to be given the right to work during this prolonged period of limbo, and call upon the UK government to amend the Syrian country guidance information with immediate effect. 

We stand in solidarity with everyone in our communities affected by the hostile environment, whether it is deportation charter flights or being pushed into making impossible decisions about our own safety. Border control creates fear in communities, and tears us apart. Together, we must create a society that protects everyone, and gives all people the right to chose where they live, and feel safe.