Syrian refugees in Lebanon return to their country on December 9, 2024, following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L’Orient Today.)
BEIRUT — For the first time since Syria's civil war began in 2011, the new authorities who toppled Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024 have announced measures to ease the return of Syrians from Lebanon, legal or not, including penalty waivers and lifted re-entry bans in some cases.
This decision, made public by the director of local and international relations of the Syrian Authority of Land and Maritime Ports, Mazen Allouche, came on the same day as the adoption in Lebanon, by the government of Nawaf Salam, of a plan for the return of Syrian refugees and migrants. A process that the Lebanese government considers "possible and necessary" in light of the "change observed in Syria" and the "absence of political and security reasons that had [until then] hindered this return."
In a statement, the General Syrian Authority of Land and Maritime Ports said it was acting “in accordance with procedures set by the Lebanese authorities.” A Lebanese diplomatic source confirmed to L’Orient Today on Wednesday that “an informal channel of communication has been established between the two countries,” and that the Syrian side has so far responded “positively.”
A source at Lebanon’s Social Affairs Ministry also said the decision was made “in coordination with the Lebanese state,” calling it “the first of its kind since 2011” — the year hundreds of thousands of Syrians fled the Assad regime’s crackdown by crossing into Lebanon.
In its announcement, the Syrian Authority outlined the following measures for nationals residing in Lebanon who wish to return via official border crossings:
- Syrians who entered Lebanon illegally after 2011 can return home with a full exemption from fines related to entry and residency violations.
- Syrians who entered legally but whose documents have expired may leave Lebanon under two conditions: those who arrived after Dec. 1, 2024, are exempt from penalties; those who entered between 2011 and December 2024 must settle the relevant fines.
The Authority also clarified that Syrians covered by these measures will not face future bans from re-entering the country. These "exceptional" provisions will remain in effect until July 15, 2025.
Syria's receptiveness
"The Syrian authorities have taken note of the plan proposed by the Lebanese government, which has generated some receptiveness," indicates the aforementioned source. The plan proposed by the ministerial commission chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri is divided into two phases: one preparatory, the other executive. The first, conducted in collaboration with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and General Security, aims to update the refugee and migrant database and expose the facilities offered by donors to those wishing to return.
The second entrusts the Social Affairs Ministry with developing, "in coordination with the relevant entities," the "concrete steps to be taken," specifies a document received by our editorial team, without providing further details.
The return of Syrian refugees has been, for years, the mantra of Lebanese political parties of all persuasions, who consider the presence of about 1.5 million Syrians - of whom 752,000 are registered with the UNHCR - for a country of some 5 million inhabitants to be "a burden" that Lebanon, in crisis since 2019, can no longer bear.
According to UNHCR figures, nearly 173,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon have voluntarily returned home since the regime's fall. However, thousands of Syrians have fled again to Lebanon, following massacres perpetrated against the Alawite community last March. International organizations note the impossibility for many families to return to villages completely destroyed by years of war and the fragility of public infrastructure.
