UK government closes options on Syrian asylum claims after Assad’s ouster

Following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad, the United Kingdom House of Business has halted the processing of asylum claims from Syrian citizens.

British House Secretary Yvette Cooper said a decision on whether to extend the safe day in Damascus could be taken following guidance from other countries such as Austria, Germany, Sweden and France.

“We know that the situation in Syria is rapidly escalating following the fall of the Assad regime,” Cooper said Monday. We have seen some people returning to Syria. We also have a very fast-moving situation that we need to keep a close eye on.

“And that is why, like Germany, like France and like other countries, we have paused asylum decisions on Syrian cases while the Home Office reviews and monitors the current situation.”

A spokesperson for the House Place of Business said the branch “will keep the stock of guidance across the country relating to asylum claims under constant review so that we can respond to emerging issues.”

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Millions of Syrians have fled their country in the 13 years since the civil war began, and the United Kingdom has granted refugee status to thousands of them in the Decade of Opportunity.

Unedited House of Business figures show that 5,548 Syrians had applied for asylum by September 2024 and 4,069 were granted coverage over the same period.

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The program from Syrians has the fifth-highest number of asylum claims in the year to September 2024, after Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Bangladesh. About 99 percent of Syrians’ claims are granted refugee status upon initial resolution.

The EU has additionally approved a large choice of Syrians, with the nationality topping the checklist for an asylum package in 2023, bringing the total to 186,580 across the bloc’s 27 countries.

In the Commons on Monday evening, Foreign Secretary David Lammy appeared unaware of the federal government’s decision to suspend processing asylum claims.

Answering additional questions in the Commons on the situation in Syria, Lammy noted that Asma al-Assad – who was born and trained in London – is a “discredited person and is not welcome here in Britain.”

The Foreign Secretary made the comments following a question about whether, as a British citizen, the wife of the former Syrian president would struggle to return to the United Kingdom.

Lammy’s comments follow Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s statement that it was too early to say whether the federal government would strip Asma al-Assad of her citizenship.

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There was obvious skepticism within the government about how to work with the rebels who have taken over Syria, the Islamist group HTS.

Starmer said during a diplomatic consultation with Saudi Arabia on Monday that “there is no decision pending” on whether to remove HTS from the list of blocked groups.

On Tuesday, Downing Side Road noted that HTS being a banned terrorist task force “does not prevent the government from engaging with HTS in the future.”

The top minister’s spokesperson noted that engagement could “for example include meetings designed to encourage a specified group to join the peace process or to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid.”

“More broadly we are reviewing the restrictions and we are obviously monitoring the situation closely,” the spokesperson said.

In 2014, al-Golani said he wanted Syria to be governed under Islamic law and with no room for Christian, Druze, Alawite and Shia minorities. Since then he has tried to present his workforce as average and inclusive.

PA media contributed to this record.