Syrian minorities refused asylum in Europe

AMSTERDAM — Armed men burst into the apartment where student Mohamad lived with his Alawite family in the Syrian city of Jableh on March 7 last year and forced the 20-year-old and his father to lie face down as they pleaded for their lives.

The gunmen eventually left with cash and some belongings but the family moved out, Mohamad said, terrified by the ordeal and the wave of killings targeting fellow Alawites after the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad, who hails from the same minority sect. After nine months house hopping to avoid being targeted again, Mohamad flew to Amsterdam on a tourist visa with his uncle Salman. They asked for asylum on arrival but their claim was rejected within weeks as they were not deemed personally at risk, documents seen by Reuters showed.

The two men are among thousands of Syrians whose asylum claims have been rejected at a time when European governments are toughening their stance on applications from Syria, now Assad has gone and the country's 14-year civil war is over. However, President Ahmed al-Sharaa's efforts to bring the fractured nation under central rule have been complicated by deadly violence against Alawites, Druze and Kurds, fuelling suspicion of his rule among minority communities, despite promises to protect them.

"Do we have to arrive dead or missing a limb for them to take our claim seriously?" Mohamad said, asking for only his surname to be used for fear of reprisals against relatives.

According to the European Union Asylum Agency (EUAA), 27,687 out of 38,407 Syrian asylum decisions in 2025 were negative. It said this was often due to procedural reasons such as applicants having previously sought asylum in another EU country, or because they withdrew their applications. That's a 28% success rate compared with 90% in 2024.

The success rate at first instance across the EU, Norway and Switzerland for all nationalities fell to 29% in 2025 from 42%, mainly driven by a significant decrease in the number of decisions on Syrian applications. In February, 19% of Syrian applications were successful. While Reuters was unable to determine how many of the failed claims were from minorities, it has documented 18 rejections of individuals or families from Syrian groups that have faced persecution since the new government took power.

The tally is based on interviews with asylum seekers, lawyers and a review of decision files and claims in Britain, France, Germany and the Netherlands by Syrians from Alawite, Druze, Kurdish, Christian and Shia minorities. Reuters also documented an Alawite in the Netherlands and a Christian in France who were granted protection.

Syria's Ministry of Information said the government was firmly committed to protecting all Syrian communities and did not condone attacks against civilians. The Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) declined to comment on individual cases. A spokesperson said 7% of Syrian asylum seekers were granted protection in 2025.

HIGHLY CHALLENGING SITUATION

Over the past year, several European countries have said asylum is no longer automatically justified for Syrians and some, such as Germany, plan to start repatriations. Before Assad's fall in December 2024, Syrians were generally eligible for asylum because levels of violence were considered high and military service was obligatory.

EU guidance for Syrian claims released in December states that Alawites, Druze and Kurds face persecution, though cases must be assessed individually to determine the level of risk.

"The problem is how (the guidance) is being used. Some governments appear to be translating 'changed circumstances' into a presumption of safety that the evidence does not support – especially for minority groups," said Nando Sigona, professor of International Migration and Forced Displacement at the University of Birmingham.

Anti-immigration rhetoric has surged since over a million people, mainly Syrians, arrived in Europe in 2015. That has given right-wing nationalist parties a boost, pushing governments to adopt increasingly restrictive migration policies focused on deterrence and returns. Ulysse Ellian, a lawmaker with the right-wing VVD party in the Dutch coalition government, said it was now possible for Syrians from certain minority groups to return safely.

European Commissioner Magnus Brunner told Reuters the situation in Syria remained "highly challenging" and all asylum applications were individually assessed. "These decisions are not arbitrary. They are based on case-by-case evaluations."

CLAIMS FROZEN

The latest Dutch asylum policy on Syria, which takes precedence over EUAA guidance, says Alawite and LGBTQ+ minorities are at risk. But even those groups are increasingly being rejected, said Claire Mayne, the Mohamad family's lawyer. "We see authorities trying to find enough reasons to reject people."

In the cases documented by Reuters, the rejections mostly cited a lack of proof or details about the person's situation to suggest they would personally be at risk. Rana Izouli, a Kurd, fled fighting in northeastern Syria in 2023 and made it to Germany. Germany's Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) rejected her claim in December saying there were insufficient reports about how the new government treated Kurdish men and women.

While minorities were granted asylum at higher rates than Syrians overall in Germany last year, most were rejected. The success rate for Alawites was 20%, Druze 9.1% and Kurds 11.8%. Germany's interior ministry did not comment on rejection rates. Britain's Home Office said it had resumed processing Syrian applications with decisions made on a case-by-case basis. A spokesperson for French asylum agency OFPRA said about 85% of Syrian applicants were granted protection in 2025.

Emad Obeid, an illustrator from Sweida and an anti-Assad activist from the Druze sect, left Syria in 2012. He arrived in the Netherlands in 2023. After his claim was frozen, his maternal cousins were killed during clashes between Druze and Bedouin fighters in July last year. The IND wrote in its decision to freeze his claim that Druze were not seen as a risk group, unlike Alawites.

WE SURVIVED A MASSACRE

Fionnuala Ni Aolain, commissioner on a UN inquiry on Syria, said there had been progress on human rights reform under President Sharaa but there was still tension between sections of society. "There's still significant insecurity and the eruption of violence last year, the coastal violence, Sweida, the northeast - all of this is indicative of some structural questions."

Since the attacks on Alawites last year, the Mohamad family's lives have turned upside down. His father, a doctor, can no longer work, and his 18-year-old sister has stopped going to school. Salman's wife has quit her job out of fear of being kidnapped. "We literally survived a massacre," she said.

As Mohamad and Salman await an appeal against their asylum rejection, Mohamad has taken up boxing and both volunteer in Amsterdam. "The danger was too close," Salman said. "Returning to Syria would be like committing suicide. I just dream of being reunited with my family again."