Syrian asylum seekers ‘terrified’ after Home Office pauses claims

Asylum seekers who have been waiting more than a year for an outcome to their applications have told BBC News they are “depressed” and “terrified” by the Home Office’s decision to pause claims.

Hussam Kassas fled Syria in 2016 after he and his family were “personally targeted” by Bashar al-Assad’s regime due to his work documenting human rights abuses and participating in protests.

The father-of-two said he expected his family to be granted refugee status, but the UK’s pause on claims had left him uncertain and at risk of losing his home and work.

The Home Office has said the move was made “whilst we assess the current situation” after the rapid fall of the regime.

Between 2011 and 2021, more than 30,000 Syrians were granted asylum in the UK – but on Monday the Home Office said it was no longer possible to assess outstanding cases given the change in circumstances there.

It means the government has not determined whether Syria, under the new rebel-led authorities, is a safe country which people could be sent to. It has stressed people will not be sent to Syria while the process is ongoing.

Mr Kassas is among the 6,500 people the Home Office has said will be impacted by the pause – and who the Refugee Council warned could be “stuck for months” with their status in limbo.

The 36-year-old, who lives in Greater Manchester and is an investigator with the UK-based Syrian British Consortium advocacy group, said his student visa expires next month – leaving him unable to work and rent.

“All of those people who came from Syria need to be supported, need to be empowered, to overcome what happened to them during the last 14 years, not uncertain again, not feeling unsafe again.”

Mr Kassas fled from Syria to Jordan in 2016 before moving to Turkey with his wife and child. He was granted a student visa in the UK in August 2023 and applied for asylum a few weeks later.

Speaking about his experiences during Syria’s civil war, he said: “I have been injured in my family house, my family house has been destroyed by barrel bombs and mortar shells.

“At one event they beat my father until he was out of [consciousness] to deliver me to them.”

Mr Kassas said he was “certain” he and his family would be “threatened” if they returned to Syria, voicing concerns that deposed president Assad’s supporters and forces are still present in the country.

“I don’t like being a refugee, I have a homeland, I have a right to get back there. But under the circumstances I do not believe I will be able to go. I will not risk my children’s safety, I will not risk my wife’s,” he told BBC News.

Syria’s capital Damascus and much of the country is now controlled by a rebel coalition, led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahir al-Sham (HTS), which is proscribed as a terror organisation by the UK government and others.

Earlier this week, cabinet minister Pat McFadden said the UK could remove HTS from the list of banned terrorist groups – but Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer later said it was “far too early” to consider a change of policy.

BBC News also spoke to Hamid, not his real name, who fled the Assad regime in 2013, after he supported humanitarian work in the country.

After moving to Lebanon and Turkey, he arrived in the UK as a student and applied for asylum in late 2023.

The father-of-two, who lives in the West Midlands, said the pause to asylum claims had left him “anxious” and his wife in tears.

“Currently with their decision, they’re affecting thousands of people who are already struggling. [Syrian asylum seekers] cannot go back yet because it’s not yet safe, they cannot settle here at the same time, they will be nowhere for an unknown period of time.”

Hamid urged the government to continue making asylum decisions until they can make a better assessment of the safety of Syria for asylum seekers.

“I want to ask them to use logic. After 13 years of a very complicated war, we cannot say in one day that we need to reassess.

“I was really happy for the fall of the Assad regime. At the same time, the next day we received this news and to be honest, I was really depressed, frustrated.”

Abdulaziz Almashi, a Syrian refugee who has settled in the UK and campaigned on behalf of asylum seekers, also echoed concerns.

“It’s not reasonable, it’s not realistic, it’s unacceptable to be honest,” he said.

“We are really worried how fast the British government and European governments are to get rid of Syrians… This is inhumane, and we don’t think anyone should go home now.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The Home Office has temporarily paused decisions on Syrian asylum claims whilst we assess the current situation.

“We keep all country guidance relating to asylum claims under constant review so we can respond to emerging issues.”