By Amina Ismail and Layli Foroudi AMSTERDAM, April 22 (Reuters) - Armed men burst into the apartment where student Mohamad lived with his Alawite family in the Syrian city of Jableh on March 7 last
Rejection Rates Surge for Syrian Minorities Seeking Asylum in Europe
By Amina Ismail and Layli Foroudi
Challenges Facing Syrian Minorities in the European Asylum Process
Personal Stories of Persecution and Rejection
AMSTERDAM, April 22 (Reuters) - 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.
Statistical Overview of Asylum Decisions
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.
Minority Groups Disproportionately Affected
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.
Government and Agency Responses
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.
Policy Shifts and Political Climate
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.
"The speed of the shift suggests this is not just a legal reassessment, but part of a broader move toward a more restrictive reading of refugee protection across Europe," he said, adding that the EU's guidance on Syria stressed the continued instability.
Rise of Restrictive Migration Policies
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.
"To create space in the asylum system again, and to reduce the need for emergency shelters in the Netherlands, it is therefore crucial that Syrians return," he told Reuters.
Legal and Humanitarian Concerns
Rights organisations and academics warn that the failure of so many asylum claims leaves Syrians - most of whom fled before Assad's fall and have built lives in Europe – in legal limbo.
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."
Current Policy and Its Impact
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."
Grounds for Rejection
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, said accounts were too general or inconsistent, or that appl
