Relatively few Syrians in Jordan risk one-way trip home

AMMAN — “Should we return to Syria or stay in Jordan? This is our discussion every evening” since Assad fell, Umm Hussam, 35, told Syria Direct from Zaatari, Jordan’s largest camp for Syrian refugees. “It is what everyone is talking about,” she added. 

Years ago, Umm Hussam and her husband collected enough money to open a clothing store in Zaatari camp, which hosts 80,000 Syrian refugees in northern Jordan. Still, their monthly earnings “barely cover our basic expenses,” she said.

“If we decide to return to Syria, we have no ability to buy or rent a house there,” so it is still too soon to talk about returning, Umm Hussam, who is originally from Syria’s southern Daraa province, added.

Omar al-Khalidi, 25, grapples with a similar mixture of desire and indecision. He came to Jordan from Syria’s central city of Homs with his mother and aunt when he was 12 years old. “I left family, friends and childhood dreams in Syria,” he told Syria Direct. “I was always searching for a homeland.” 

“I will definitely go back, but I can’t return until I wrap up my obligations here and find a place and a job in Homs. I don’t expect it to be possible before two months from now, at best,” al-Khalidi said. He married in Jordan two months before the regime fell on December 8, 2024, and works as a chef at a restaurant in the capital, Amman. 

Between December 8 and December 25, a total of 22,215 Syrians entered their country from Jordan, most of whom were transiting from third countries. Over the same period, 3,106 Syrian refugees in Jordan returned, including 252 from refugee camps, according to Basem al-Dahamsha, the head of Jordan’s Directorate of Nationality and Foreigners’ Affairs. Jordan hosts 717,000 Syrian refugees registered with the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). 

On December 23, Jordan’s Ministry of Interior clarified who is allowed to enter Syria and return through the Jaber border crossing. For Syrians, it specified two categories: Syrian investors and their families who hold a certain amount of capital in Jordan, and Syrians with Jordanian citizenship. 

Most Syrian refugees do not have the right to visit their country and then return to Jordan, leaving those like Umm Hussam and al-Khalidi reluctant to risk the one-way trip before securing a suitable living situation on the other side of the border. 

A few days ago, al-Khalidi’s cousin returned to Syria from Jordan. “On the Jordanian side of the border, his passport was marked with a red stamp, and he signed a pledge not to return for five years,” he explained. 

Syria Direct reached out to two official Jordanian sources for a statement on returning Syrian refugees being barred from reentering Jordan, but they declined to comment. 

Fears of return

The amount of humanitarian aid provided to Syrian refugees in Jordan by the UNHCR fell in recent years, either reduced in value or provided to fewer beneficiaries. Still, Syrians in Jordan have better living and social conditions than their peers in other neighboring host countries, such as Lebanon and Turkey. 

As a result, sources Syria Direct spoke to in Jordan were afraid of making a hasty decision to return to a country that still lacks security and economic stability. The large-scale destruction of many cities—such as al-Khalidi’s native Homs—is another barrier. 

Read more: ‘Systematic’ destruction keeps Homs’ displaced from returning home

A street that wraps around the perimeter of Zaatari refugee camp in northern Jordan, 4/3/2024 (Hanna Davis/ Syria Direct)

“We came to Jordan as individuals, and we will return as families,” Musa Daoud, 30, told Syria Direct. “Many Syrians married and had children in Jordan,” so “the decision to return requires planning, arranging conditions to live and work in our country,” he added. 

“I would like to return to my country, but this is not currently possible,” Daoud explained. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to find housing or work if I go back.” Originally from Daraa province, Daoud works as an agricultural day laborer in Jordan’s northern Mafraq province.

For Israa al-Miqdad, 20, returning is also “currently out of the question” due to poor economic conditions, insecurity and a lack of basic services such as water and electricity. “Salaries are not enough to buy bread,” she told Syria Direct. “Life in Syria won’t improve immediately with the fall of the regime. It may take some time for it to be ready to receive its children.” 

If Jordan were to allow Syrians to visit their country and return with a refugee travel document that was available before the regime fell, al-Miqdad—who is also from Daraa—would not hesitate to do so. Temporary visits would “facilitate refugees’ return later,” she added. 

Turkey, which hosts around three million Syrians, has allowed refugees with temporary protection status (Kimlik) to visit. One family member may visit Syria three times between January and July 2025, with the aim of facilitating returns. 

Given the major challenges Syria faces, “from the humanitarian crisis, continued internal displacement [and] widespread destruction of infrastructure,” the UNHCR does not currently encourage “large-scale voluntary returns,” UNHCR Jordan spokesperson Batool Ghaith told Syria Direct. 

“The UNHCR reaffirms its commitment to its agreement with the Jordanian government that any return by Syrian refugees to their country must be voluntary, dignified and safe,” Ghaith added. The agency “is in continuous contact with Jordanian authorities at all levels to follow developments and discuss coordination.”

Facilitating return

Since the Assad regime fell, the Syrian embassy in Jordan has extended around 30,000 Syrian passports, chargé d’affaires Ihsan al-Rumman told Syria Direct. “The embassy was the first to start extending passports for six months, free of cost, after the new administration in Syria assumed its duties, in a step aimed at facilitating procedures for Syrians in Jordan,” he added. 

The embassy has also issued around 400 temporary travel documents, each covering the departure of between four and six people, al-Rumman said. These documents are granted to Syrians in Jordan who do not have passports, and permit a one-time crossing back to their country of origin. 

The Syrian embassy does not differentiate between “a Syrian who entered Jordanian territory legally or illegally, or between a refugee and non-refugee,” al-Rumman added. “Everyone has the same treatment and facilities.” 

The embassy is also resuming the registration of “newborns in Jordan within the Syrian civil status registry, while ensuring this is conducted easily,” he added.

Facilitating procedures for Syrians in Jordan is not enough, Umm Hussam said. She noted a “lack of legal awareness regarding us staying or returning,” outside of “some unofficial recommendations from government officials who said Syria is still not stable, so we should wait a little longer.” 

Refugees living in camps like Zaatari could face other challenges if they do decide to return. “UNHCR asks returning camp residents to sign a clearance document, and to receive this document, refugees must hand over their caravans [trailers], even if they bought them,” Umm Hussam said. 

Many residents of Zaatari, which opened in July 2012, have made modifications to their caravans or bought new ones when they became worn out, as the shelter’s average lifespan is between six and seven years.

Umm Hussam’s family still has not decided whether to return home to Syria or remain as refugees in Jordan. It is no easy choice, as there is no “turning back” if they cannot secure a decent life on the other side of the border. 

This report was originally published in Arabic and translated into English by Mateo Nelson.