While the situation continues to evolve at rapid speed, German authorities have already announced that they will stop processing Syrian asylum applications.

This won’t affect Syrians who are already in the asylum system or who are settled in Germany, but they have another reason to be worried – There are around 330,000 Syrians who have subsidiary protection, a temporary status which can be lifted as soon as the conditions in Syria are considered safe enough for them to return.

Austria, which has also suspended asylum claims and family reunifications, is already making plans to repatriate Syrians, and it may not be long before Germany starts arranging for Syrians to return, either voluntarily or by force.

The interior minister, Nancy Faeser, said it was too soon to speculate about concrete plans, but there have been calls from some, including the CDU member of the Bundestag Jens Spahn, to start organizing charter flights to send Syrians back home each with 1,000 euros in their pocket.

Many Syrians say they have always dreamt about returning to their homeland. Nearly every Syrian InfoMigrants spoke to in the suburb of Bad Godesberg, near Bonn, said they wanted to return. Some had family in Syria, and others spoke about loved ones they had lost. Even those from religious and ethnic minorities, whose safety and security in Syria under a new Islamist regime is uncertain, said they want to go back.

Read AlsoGerman court rules there is 'no general danger' to civilians in Syria

Returning to family

Dia Al-Dorgmani, a Kurd who owns a sweet shop, says he wants to move back home to Syria. "I want to go back to Damascus, as soon as it is safe. My whole family is there," he said. "Thank you to Germany and all the countries that have accepted us. They took us for a long time. We have to accept this idea in our own minds that we have to go back."

Not far from the sweet shop, Mohammad runs a restaurant named after his home city, Damascus. The 46-year-old came to Germany in 2015 and has since brought his family. Like more than 160,000 other Syrians here, he now has German citizenship.

Mohammad is upset at the proposal to return people to Syria. "The government labels these people as terrorists. How can you send people back to terrorists," he said. "They have to have a proper government in Syria first. After that they can talk about returns."

With German passports, Mohammad and his family don’t have to fear being sent back to Syria. Would he consider ever going back to live? "No way," he said. "I’ve made a new life here, I feel at home. Germany is my home."

What the upheaval in Syria means for Mohammad is that he may at last be able to visit his family, whom he has not seen for 12 years. Syrians who keep their asylum or refugee status in Germany, however, will still not be allowed to travel to their home country. Under the current law, if they do, they will lose their residence permit and could even be banned from coming back to Germany for good.

Read AlsoWhen can refugee status or subsidiary protection be revoked?

A loss for Germany

Many Syrians say they want to return to help rebuild the country. That suits those in Germany who argue that they no longer have grounds to claim protection. But the disappearance of tens of thousands of Syrians from Germany would also leave major gaps in workplaces, universities, and schools.

"Of course that would be a loss," a local woman in Bad Godesberg told InfoMigrants. "These people are also paying tax, you have to look at it that way too."  

The 63-year-old added that a lot of Syrians are well-integrated in Germany. But she also believes "the number of foreigners is getting a bit out of hand," pointing down the main street to shops and businesses catering to Syrians, Iraqis, Lebanese, and Moroccans, as well as Germans. "At some point, whether it’s Syrians or people from another country, it’s enough," she said.

Daniel, a 38-year-old German man, said Germany should continue to welcome newcomers and he criticized the government’s decision to freeze asylum applications from Syrians. As to when, and if, Syrians go back to their country, he said that should be for them to decide.