Since 2016, more than 1.2 million Syrian refugees returned home, Türkiye’s Interior Minister said on Monday as Parliament was discussing his ministry’s budget.
The end of Syria’s civil war in December 2024, as rebels toppled the oppressive regime, led to an uptick in the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland, regardless of the crumbling infrastructure of the war-torn country.
Türkiye embraced refugees from its southern neighbor as the war intensified and, at one point, hosted the largest Syrian refugee community in the world. Despite reaction from far-right groups, the government adhered to its principle of an open-door policy for refugees fleeing the war. It occasionally encouraged returns for refugees, but only to areas in northern Syria liberated from terrorist groups, and only voluntarily. After the collapse of the Baathist regime, refugees who called Türkiye home for years have been streaming to the border crossings for returns.
Yerlikaya told lawmakers that Türkiye hosted some 3.6 million foreigners with legal residence in Türkiye as of Oct. 31 and Syrians under temporary protection status made up more than 2.3 million of them. He said more than 149,000 people of other nationalities were also in Türkiye under temporary protection status, while more than 1.08 million people had residence permits.
“After Syria regained its freedom, we have seen that voluntary, safe, dignified and orderly returns (of refugees) accelerated. Between Dec. 9 and Nov. 12, 557,702 Syrian brothers and sisters returned to their country that way. Since 2016, (more than) 1.2 million brothers and sisters returned to Syria,” he said.
Elsewhere, Türkiye fights irregular migration. Sitting at the intersection of Asia and Europe, the country attracts migrants fleeing economic hardships and conflicts in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Hoping to reach Europe through Türkiye’s land and maritime borders, migrants often risk their lives aboard dinghies in the Aegean Sea or freezing temperatures on Türkiye’s eastern and northwestern borders. They pay hefty sums to migrant smugglers for the illegal journeys.
Yerlikaya said authorities arrested 3,267 suspects in the first 10 months of 2025 in operations against migrant smugglers. “Türkiye always sets an example in the world with its innovative solutions utilizing technology in migration management. One of them is are mobile migration point vehicle. Our staff can instantly and safely inquire about the status of any foreigners without a valid ID or passport through these points. Thus, our efficiency against irregular migration is increased,” the minister stated. Since the mobile points were first introduced in July 2023, authorities checked the IDs of more than 6.2 million foreigners and detected 236,212 irregular migrants.
