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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Ashifa Kassam and Deborah Cole in Berlin

Syrians in Germany ask to be allowed to visit home and keep protected status

Syrian people celebrate and hold up banners and flags
Syrian people living in Germany gather in Berlin to celebrate the fall of the Assad regime on 8 December. Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Syrians in Germany have called on the government to allow them to travel to their home country for short visits without risking their protection status, as questions mount over how the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime will affect the millions of Syrians who live in Europe.

More than a month after a lightning advance by rebels toppled the Assad family’s 54-year rule, the residency status of many Syrians across Europe remains in limbo. A dozen or so countries across the bloc responded to the regime’s fall by suspending the processing of asylum application from Syrians. Austria went further to say it was preparing a “repatriation and deportation” programme.

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