Austrian Government Offers €1,000 Payment to Syrian Refugees for Returning Home

The Austrian government has offered Syrian refugees a one-off payment of €1,000 for returning home to Syria after the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime.

Austrian Chancellor Karl Negammer announced this on Twitter.

‘Austria will support Syrians who wish to return to their homeland by paying them a bonus of €1,000. Now the country needs its citizens to rebuild. The current asylum procedures for Syrian citizens in Austria will continue to be suspended,’ the statement said. 

After the overthrow of the Assad regime last week by Islamist rebels, Austria, like many EU countries, suspended consideration of asylum applications from Syrian refugees. However, European countries cannot deport refugees against their will until the situation in Syria becomes clear. It should be noted that Syrians are the largest group of illegal refugees in Austria. It is currently unclear how many Syrian refugees will take advantage of the Austrian government's offer.

The Ministry of the Interior has announced that it has begun reassessing the applications of about 40,000 Syrians who have been granted status in the country over the past five years.

The Assad regime fell on Sunday, 8 December, after rebels seized control of the capital Damascus. The country's long-time leader Bashar al-Assad and his family fled the country for Russia, where they were granted asylum.