Over the past few years, Germany has received some 780,000 Syrians, who have fled war and Daesh there and sought protected status in Europe. Recent reports, however, allege that some of them have managed to enjoy both the German social security system and visits to their homeland.
German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, representing the Bavarian wing of Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union, has suggested sending asylum seekers home from Germany if they have regularly travelled to their countries of origin for private reasons.
“Anyone who regularly goes to Syria for a holiday as a Syrian refugee cannot seriously complain about being persecuted there. We have to strip him of his refugee status”, Seehofer told the Sunday issue of the German outlet Bild.
If the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) became aware of trips to the country of origin, the authorities would immediately look into revoking a person's refugee status, the official, known for his hard-line stance on migration policy, put it. He also noted that the authorities are observing all the developments in Syria, saying that “if the situation allows, we will proceed with repatriations”.
Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with government forces fighting against numerous opposition groups as well as militant and terrorist organisations. Meanwhile, over the last several years Germany has received around 780,000 Syrians, who…
