Over 763,000 Syrians returned to country since 2017: Interior Minister
Syrian refugees who live in Türkiye walk with their belongings at Cilvegozu crossborder gate before entering Syria at Reyhanli district in Hatay, on Dec.9, 2024. (AFP Photo)
Türkiye’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced that since 2017, 763,443 Syrians have voluntarily, safely and orderly returned to their home country from Türkiye.
Speaking at Anadolu Agency’s Editor’s Desk, Yerlikaya revealed that more than 25,000 Syrians have returned in the past two weeks alone—a sevenfold increase compared to previous periods.
25,000 Syrians returned in last two weeks
Yerlikaya explained that Syrians who wish to return to their country can apply through the Presidency of Migration Management’s official website. Applicants receive an appointment on the same day, ensuring an efficient process.
The minister emphasized that Syrians returning to their homeland are allowed to take all their household and workplace belongings, including vehicles, with them.
At the moment, we have provided voluntary returns at 6 border gates. Naturally, most of the people left from the provinces where we are located, most of them from Gaziantep. Since most of the people who came are from Aleppo, almost half of those who left are from Aleppo.
Until Dec. 8, our transaction capacity at our border gates was 320. Anticipating an increase in demand, we increased the number of employees. We switched to a 24-hour working style.
The first thing we do when they make an appointment is to check their fingerprints. We examine whether they have any records or searches. We give them a travel permit for whichever door they want to go through. During the exit, we prove his/her volunteerism by having him/her fill out a form and sign it.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya
Plans for migration management offices in Syria
To facilitate smoother transitions and documentation, Türkiye plans to establish migration management offices at its embassy in Damascus and consulate in Aleppo.
Türkiye hosts over 4M foreign nationals legally
Yerlikaya also shared updated statistics, stating that Türkiye currently hosts 4,164,472 legally residing foreign nationals. Among these, 2,920,119 are under temporary protection status as Syrian refugees.
Türkiye reopened its embassy in Damascus, nearly a week after Assad was toppled by opposition-led forces.
There is a question about voluntary return: “What should we take with us?” Will they be able to take their household items with them? For this, we said, ‘Let them take everything they have at home,’ because they don’t have the means there. They entered our country with rickshaws… There are a little over 200 thousand vehicles. ‘“’I will only use this vehicle in Syria from now on,'” they register.
Business people also need to go to Syria; they are also needed. As a result of our negotiations with the professional chambers, we will receive their applications, and these friends will go directly across.
At the Cabinet meeting yesterday, our president instructed all our cabinet members to help our colleagues there in the process of establishing the Syrian government. We are establishing a migration administration in our embassies and consulates regarding the documents of Syrians living in our country. The records will be used here.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya
Yerlikaya said one person from each family will be given the right to enter and exit three times from Jan. 1 to July 2025 under regulations to be drafted upon Erdogan’s instructions.
We’re authorizing 2 gates. Pioneers will be able to go and return through these two gates. 1 member of each family will be able to enter and exit 3 times until July. We made such a decision so that they can prepare the house there.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya
Türkiye’s commitment to humanitarian and orderly migration policies
Minister Yerlikaya reiterated Türkiye’s commitment to ensuring that all returns of Syrian nationals are carried out voluntarily, securely and with dignity.
He expressed deep concern about reports of human rights violations in facilities such as Sadnaya Prison in Syria, calling them a stain on humanity.
Whoever is involved in migrant smuggling should know that we will definitely send them to prison. We know how many people are in prison, and when they will be released, they should not dare.
We have installed cameras in the mobile migration vehicles, we have taken measures to prevent possible ill-treatment. We take fingerprints from those who do not have ID cards. When we started this practice, 74.5 of the queries in identity checks turned out to be irregular migrants. Then this rate dropped to 2%. We stopped being a transit route and destination for migration. We have ended the land route by 99.9 percent, both from the coastal border in the Aegean and Thrace… No one can leave our country illegally. As of 2025, no one will be able to exit Türkiye. They will not even think of entering; if they enter, they will be caught, and they will not dare to leave because they will be caught.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya
