Syrians in limbo: UK asylum freeze leaves thousands stranded after Assad’s fall

More than 6,000 Syrians in the UK are in a state of uncertainty due to a freeze on their asylum claims, two months after the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

The Home Office announced a “pause” on processing Syrian asylum claims on December 9, the day after rebel forces entered Damascus, citing the need to “assess the current situation.”

The political scenario in Syria remains highly unstable. Ahmed al-Sharaa, previously known by his alias Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, has recently been named president, but his forces are still designated as a terrorist organization by the UK and other nations.

Analysis by The Observer of official figures reveals that at least 6,600 Syrian asylum applications—each potentially involving multiple individuals—are on hold in the UK system, awaiting initial decisions. Additionally, more claims are anticipated from Syrians arriving via small boats. Leading charities and legal experts have urged the government to address the situation promptly.

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Many of the frozen claims are believed to be from Syrians who fled Assad’s regime. In a recent House of Lords session, Home Office Minister Lord Hanson said there was a “strong case” that the majority of Syrians who arrived before Assad’s fall “were fleeing the Assad regime.”

However, since the start of Syria’s civil war in 2011, multiple groups have been accused of persecution and war crimes, with control over various territories shifting frequently. In the UK, over 20,000 Syrian refugees had been resettled under a government scheme by the end of February 2021, according to the Refugee Council.