As Turkey eases ban, Syrian refugees can now visit before deciding to return

ANKARA — Turkish authorities have eased the country's ban on Syrians returning after visiting their homeland. While the UN and other observers welcomed the move, they also cautioned against raising expectations of mass returns.

Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on Thursday that one adult family member from each Syrian family taking refuge in Turkey will be allowed to visit their homeland and return.

Since 2023, Turkish authorities have effectively prevented Syrians who travel home from returning to Turkey after Syrians visiting their homeland during religious holidays sparked a backlash among the Turkish public, intensifying anti-refugee sentiments in Turkey.

Turkey hosts the world’s largest refugee population, including nearly 3 million registered Syrians who fled the civil war. The number of unregistered Syrians is unknown but is estimated to be around 5 million.

While the fall of the Syrian regime and its longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 8 empowered more Syrians to travel to their hometowns to check on their homes, many were afraid to do so because of the no-return rule. 

Under the new measure, one adult from each Syrian family will be allowed to enter and exit Turkey up to three times within a six-month period.

“Under the instructions of our president, we have also given it a name: pioneer immigrant,” Yerlikaya said Thursday.

“When a breadwinner or an adult member of the family applies to us as a pioneer immigrant, we grant permission on the same day,” he said.

The move aims to help Syrian families make needed arrangements and address issues before the families return to live, Yerlikaya added.

The UN’s refugee body UNHCR and others welcomed the easing of the rule. 

UNHCR Turkey spokesperson Selin Unal said the easing of the ban will allow Syrians to make informed decisions about whether to return to their country.  

Turkey’s “approach in this regard, to authorize go-and-see visits to Syria with the possibility of re-entering, is a very wise approach which we welcome,” Unal told Al-Monitor.

“Syrians should be given the time and space to assess and afforded the flexibility to assess the conditions upon return, such as through go-and-see visits.”

Nearly 7 million Syrians fled their homeland during the civil war, mostly escaping to neighboring countries and Europe. A visit home could jeopardize their refugee or asylum-seeker status under international law.

Unal called on other countries to follow suit, saying, “All host governments should follow [Turkey’s] lead on this as a good practice.”

The return of Syrians to their country has been a top agenda item for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government amid rising antipathy against refugees.

Syrians living in Turkey have often faced discrimination, with anti-refugee sentiment sometimes escalating into mob violence. In June last year, hundreds of shops and vehicles reportedly owned by Syrians were destroyed in anti-migrant riots after reports emerged of a Syrian national molesting a girl in central Anatolia.

Ankara has also come under scrutiny by rights groups over alleged forced deportations of Syrians.

Following the fall of the Syrian regime, UNHCR has increased its presence at border crossings to “ensure the voluntariness of returns and to identify and address any individual concerns,” Unal said.

The fall of the Syrian regime led to more than 52,000 Syrians crossing the border in the past month, according to Yerlikaya.

While refugee experts welcomed Ankara’s easing of restrictions on the no-return rule, they also cautioned against creating high public expectations.

Kardi Gungorur works with the Istanbul-based nonprofit Refugees Association, which closely works with Syrians in Turkey. He said the move was an important step, allowing Syrians to assess the situation in their hometowns firsthand.

“But Syria needs reconstruction. People's houses in many places are uninhabitable,” he told Al-Monitor. “Thus, Syrians may stay in Turkey for a while. This in turn can cause renewed anti-refugee sentiment in the Turkish public,” he said. “People will ask, ‘Why are they still here? Why haven’t they left yet?’”

Unal echoed his cautious tone.

“Syrians are considering how safe Syria will be and how far human rights will be respected before they can make an informed, voluntary decision to return home,” she said.

“With the uncertainty of the current situation and new realities on the ground, it may take refugees some time to get a clearer picture of what the conditions will be.”