• Skip to Main Navigation
  • Skip to Content
  • Skip to Footer
  • About ISIM
    • Our Mission
    • Support ISIM
  • Our People
    • Faculty & Staff
    • Affiliated Scholars
    • Students
  • Research
    • Current Projects
    • Past Projects
  • Academics
    • Master of Arts in International Migration and Refugees
    • ISIM Courses
    • Certificates
      • Graduate Certificate in Refugees, Migration, and Humanitarian Emergencies
      • SCS Certificate in Global Displacement and Migration Studies
  • Admissions
    • How to Apply
    • Financial Aid
    • Connect
  • News
  • Events
  • ISIM Blog
Georgetown University
Walsh School of Foreign Service
  • News
  • Events
  • ISIM Blog
  • About ISIM
    • Our Mission
    • Support ISIM
  • Our People
    • Faculty & Staff
    • Affiliated Scholars
    • Students
  • Research
    • Current Projects
    • Past Projects
  • Academics
    • Master of Arts in International Migration and Refugees
    • ISIM Courses
    • Certificates
      • Graduate Certificate in Refugees, Migration, and Humanitarian Emergencies
      • SCS Certificate in Global Displacement and Migration Studies
  • Admissions
    • How to Apply
    • Financial Aid
    • Connect
Research
Navigate To…
  • Policy Issues
  • ISIM Working Papers
    • Social Cohesion of Syrian Refugees in Türkiye and Conditions for IDPs in Syria after the Earthquake February 6, 2023
    • Climate Displacement and the Problem of Non-Economic Loss in Latin America and the Caribbean
    • Socioeconomic Challenges Facing Migrant and Refugee Populations in Costa Rica
    • Syrian Refugee Returns, Reintegration Experiences and Risks
  • Current Projects
    • Internal Displacement
    • Transit Migration in the Americas
    • In the Aftermath of the Earthquake in Türkiye: Enhancing Social Cohesion among Syrian Refugees and the Host Society
    • Relocating Refugees to Enhance Integration Opportunities
    • Protracted Displacement and the Search for Solutions
    • Migration, Climate Change and Remittances in Central America
    • Refugees, Migration and Global Governance
    • Refugee and Migrant Children
    • Environmental Migration and Displacement
    • Natural Resource Management in Protracted Displacement Situations
    • Access to Durable Solutions for IDPs in Iraq
    • Forecasting the Break
    • Arctic Migration in Harmony
    • Planned Relocations
  • Past Projects
    • International Responsibility Sharing and Refugees
    • Crisis Migration
    • Immigration Policy and Reform

Syrian Refugee Returns, Reintegration Experiences and Risks

About the Report

This working paper provides empirically supported background on the possibilities and risks of return and reintegration of refugees to Syria. Based on recent qualitative interviews, it differentiates between the experiences of refugees returning to regime-controlled areas mainly in Southern, Central and Western Syria from Lebanon and Jordan as well as those returning from Turkey and Northern Iraq to Northern Syria. It addresses three major challenges to the return of refugees: (1) the lack of security and safety; (2) the humanitarian and socio-economic situation, threatening the survival of returnees; and (3) severe challenges in accessing housing, land, and the property rights. The paper provides an overview of the reasons for ongoing spontaneous returns, the official rhetoric of host countries and their ad hoc procedures and practices. As a key message, the paper stresses that despite an end to warfare in most areas, safe return remains unattainable because the Syrian regime and other military actors continue to pose severe threats to the lives and survival of Syrians including returnees. 

Working Paper

  • Syrian Refugee Returns, Reintegration Experiences and Risks
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
Georgetown University
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Maps

ICC 305
37th and O Street NW
Washington, DC 20057
P. +1 (202) 687-2350
isim@georgetown.edu

ISIM Mailing List

  • Accessibility
  • Copyright Information
  • Privacy Policy
  • Notice of Non-Discrimination
© 2025 Walsh School of Foreign Service