According to Deputy President Cevdet Yılmaz, a total of 145,639 Syrian refugees returned to their country between December 8, 2024 and March 16, 2025. Thus, the number of people returning to Syria from Turkey since 2016 reached 885,642.
While the number of Syrian asylum-seekers under temporary protection in Turkey decreased to 2,810,977, 73,178 Syrians continue to live in Turkey with residence permits. In addition, 238,768 Syrians have acquired Turkish citizenship.
In addition, there are more than 1 million Syrians who left Turkey after 2015 and migrated to Europe, where they have applied for asylum.
According to the data, an average of 1,471 Syrian refugees have been returning to their country on a daily basis since the fall of the Assad regime.
However, the real big wave of return is expected to take place during the summer vacation period after school closures.
Of course, not all Syrian asylum-seekers will return, but it is likely that a significant number of them will do so over time.
But will Syrians who have been living in Turkey for more than 10 years completely sever their ties with Turkey upon their return?
There will of course be ties of the heart and memories, but this is not enough.
Permanent legal ties are necessary
We need to make our legal ties with Syrians who have lived in Turkey under temporary protection permanent. Both for those who will stay in Turkey and for those who return.
Even those who have already returned to Syria should be able to benefit from this right. Moreover, this legal status should be transferable to children.
There is no such status at the moment, let’s call it “Green Card” for now.
First of all, in order to encourage returns, those who return for good can be granted this status as part of a procedure applied at the border gate.
Then, those who have already returned to Syria should be given the opportunity to obtain this status through offices or consulates to be opened in Syria.
Syrian Turkmens living in Syria but who have never been to Turkey can also be included in this status.
Why is it important?
Let us imagine the future.
Let’s imagine that 20 or even 50 years from now, the President of Turkey says the following about a development in Syria:
“We have 4 million Green Card holders in Syria.”
The future of Syria is uncertain.
But in any scenario, good or bad, the presence of a population with legal ties to Turkey will increase Turkey’s power in the region.
If this legal status is implemented gradually, it would both encourage returns to Syria and prevent Turkey from severing ties with Syrian refugees, in whom Turkey has invested for years.
So far, we have no data on basic questions such as whether the 885,642 Syrians who have returned to their country had children, whether they are alive, and where they live.
For these people, there are only memories and photographs to show how Turkey protected them. However, a legal link would strengthen the inclination of returning Syrians to preserve their Turkish and pass it on to their children.
Institutions in Turkey should work fast and create the infrastructure for this legal status before the summer vacation. In this way, the mass of returnees will be larger and will not be missed.
Source: dirilispostasi.com
