The BBCAsylum seekers who have been waiting more than a year for the outcome of their applications have told BBC News they are “disappointed” and “horrified” by the Home Office’s decision to freeze their claims.
Hossam Casas fled Syria in 2016 after he and his family were “personally targeted” by Bashar al-Assad’s regime for documenting human rights abuses and participating in protests.
The father-of-two said he expected his family to be granted refugee status, but the pause on Britain’s claims had left him in limbo and at risk of losing his home and job.
The Home Office said the move was made “while we assess the current situation” after the government’s rapid fall.
Between 2011 and 2021, more than 30,000 Syrians were granted asylum in the UK – but on Monday The Home Office said it was no longer possible to review the outstanding cases. Given the change in conditions there.
That means the government has not determined whether Syria under the new rebel-led authorities is a safe country to send people to. He has stressed that people will not be sent to Syria while the process continues.
Mr Casas is among 6,500 people the Home Office has said will be affected by the break – and who the Refugee Council warned could be “stranded for months” with their status at risk.
The 36-year-old, who lives in Greater Manchester and is an investigator with the UK-based Syrian British Consortium advocacy group, said his student visa expires next month – leaving him unable to work and rent. Will not be able to.
“All those people who came from Syria need to be supported, they need to be empowered, to overcome what happened to them during the last 14 years, not to be uncertain again, not to be again Don’t feel safe.”
Mr Casas fled Syria to Jordan in 2016 before moving to Turkey with his wife and child. He was granted a student visa in the UK in August 2023 and applied for asylum a few weeks later.
Speaking about his experiences during the Syrian civil war, he said: “I was injured in my family home, my family home was destroyed by barrel bombs and mortar shells.
“At one event they beat my father until he passed out. [consciousness] To hand me over to them.”
Mr Casas said he was “certain” he and his family would be “threatened” if he returned to Syria, expressing fears that supporters and forces of ousted President Assad were still in the country. .
“I don’t like being a refugee, I have a homeland, I have the right to go back there, but I’m not sure I can go. I won’t risk the safety of my children, I won’t do it. “My wife is in danger,” he told BBC News.
The Syrian capital, Damascus, and much of the country are now controlled by a rebel coalition, led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahir al-Sham (HTS), which is banned as a terrorist organization by the UK government and others. is
earlier this week, Cabinet minister Pat McFadden said the UK could remove HTS from its list of banned terrorist groups. – but Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer later said it was “too premature” to consider a change of policy.
BBC News also spoke to Hamid, not his real name, who fled the Assad regime in 2013 after supporting humanitarian work in the country.
After visiting Lebanon and Turkey, he arrived in the UK as a student and applied for asylum in late 2023.
The father-of-two, who lives in the West Midlands, said the pause in asylum claims had reduced him and his wife to tears.
“Right now with their decision, they are affecting thousands of people who are already struggling. [Syrian asylum seekers] Can’t go back now because it’s not safe yet, they can’t settle here at once, they won’t be anywhere for an indefinite period of time.”
Hamid urged the government to continue making asylum decisions until it can better assess Syria’s safety for asylum seekers.
“I want to ask them to use logic. After 13 years of a very complicated war, we cannot say in one day that we need to reassess.
“I was really happy about the end of the Assad regime. At the same time, the next day we got the news and to be honest I was really depressed, disappointed.”
Abdulaziz al-Mashi, a Syrian refugee who lives in Britain and campaigns on behalf of asylum seekers, also echoed the concerns.
“It’s not reasonable, it’s not realistic, it’s unacceptable to be honest,” he said.
“We’re really worried about how quickly the British government and European governments are moving to get rid of Syrians… it’s inhumane, and we don’t think anyone should be going home anymore.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “The Home Office has temporarily suspended decisions on Syrian asylum claims while we assess the current situation.
“We keep all country guidance on asylum claims under constant review so that we can respond to emerging issues.”