ATHENS — In February 2026, Greece reopened the asylum cases of 1,200 Syrians, including long-term residents, as part of a policy reassessment asserting that Syria is now safe for returns. Greek authorities issued notices to Syrian and Afghan men asking them to restate their reasons for seeking asylum and explain why they should not be deported.
Bashir, a Syrian national granted asylum in Greece in 2015, received such a notice in April 2026. "It’s a catastrophe," Bashir told Al Jazeera. "I don’t understand how this can happen. If they decide I should leave the country, should my family stay here?" He added, "We don’t understand on what criteria they decided Syria is safe."
The move coincides with renewed violence in Syria. In early 2026, clashes erupted between the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, and Israel has continued sporadic attacks on Syrian territory. Despite these developments, Greek Migration Minister Thanos Plevris announced in February 2026 that he had ordered the reopening of asylum cases that could be revoked.
Plevris has defended restrictive migration measures by citing cultural and religious differences. "There are countries with which we don’t have common values, and that’s mainly because of religion, let’s be clear, it’s because of hardcore Islam," he said at a parliamentary committee hearing. "So, you have to pick countries that are religiously neutral or Christian. We’re talking to Georgia, the Philippines, Armenia, India."
Angeliki Theodoropoulou, Bashir’s lawyer, challenged the safety claim. "We believe this has to do with the European Union’s stance towards Syria and Afghanistan, and with the fact that there are quite a few voluntary returns, which encourages authorities to say, ‘Let’s see if these people can return.’" She also noted, "We’re also seeing asylum being given in very few cases, and a lot of rejections," and stated that neither Syria nor Afghanistan is necessarily safe for return.
Greece has intensified its returns policy since 2025, revoking asylum for nearly 200 people that year—more than in the previous decade combined. Under current rules, rejected applicants face ankle monitors, 5,000-euro fines, and confinement in closed camps if they do not leave voluntarily within two weeks. These measures align with the EU’s Asylum and Migration Pact, set to take effect in July 2026, which mandates stricter border controls and return procedures.