More than 100,000 Syrian lives remain on hold after the UK and several European countries paused asylum claims following the fall of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

Many of the countries, including Germany which has the largest Syrian population outside of the Middle East, froze applications days after the rebel takeover of Damascus in December 2024.

The situation is also turbulent. Israel has repeatedly targeted Syria with hundreds of air strikes and seized parts of the Golan Heights. Sectarian violence has erupted in recent weeks which has not been fully contained.

International sanctions against Syria too are still largely in place, although on Thursday the UK lifted sanctions on Syria’s defence and interior ministries and a range of its intelligence agencies.