Syrians in Germany are calling on the government to allow them to return home for short-term visits without fear of a threat to their protected status, as questions grow about how the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime will affect millions of Syrians living in Europe The more.

More than a month after the rebels' lightning advance to overthrow the Assad family's 54-year rule, the residency status of many Syrians across Europe remains unresolved. More than a dozen EU countries have reacted to the collapse of the Syrian regime by suspending the processing of asylum applications from Syrians. Austria further said it was preparing a "repatriation and deportation" plan.

The swift response from officials has heightened the fears of many Syrians across the continent as they consider whether to return home. This is a particular concern for those who are unable to obtain citizenship of an EU country.

“People are afraid of traveling to Syria and losing their status as a refugee or asylum seeker,” said Anwar al-Bunni, director of the Berlin-based nonprofit Syrian Legal Research Center.

He is one of 10 representatives of Germany's Syrian community who recently asked the government to create an exemption - similar to the one provided to the latest group of Ukrainians who sought refuge in Europe - to allow those who have not yet been granted German citizenship to temporarily go their country. Return to your home country without fear of your status being threatened.

“Everyone wants to see it,” Bonnie said. "Some will leave and eventually return to Syria if his home, his shop, his job remains. Others work here or have projects and they may want to help Syria but continue to work here. Others Just wanted to visit but stay here.”

Catherine Woolard, director of the European Council for Refugees and Exiles, said the call was echoed across the continent.

Those with EU citizenship are free to travel as they wish, but for those with international protection status - from recognized refugees to those awaiting asylum claims - the general approach has long been that once they are If found, their status will be revoked and they will be returned to the country from which they fled.

"We strongly caution against revoking status prematurely and forcibly deporting people prematurely because this is all new and doing so is illegal until it is clear that Syria is safe," Woolard said.

The United Nations has called the humanitarian situation in Syria catastrophic, with 90% of the population living in poverty after the economy collapsed. After 14 years of civil war, much of the country is in ruins.

Woolard said her organization is among those supporting the idea of ​​allowing Syrians to return temporarily, noting that Turkey has announced it will allow three visits to Syria without losing status. “This is in the interest of the people themselves and the country,” she said. "That's because it's more likely to contribute to people's long-term return."

Since most Syrians have been unable to return since setting foot in Europe, the visits will allow them to reconnect with relatives, property and potential employers and assess the situation. Ultimately, Woolard said, "it means people have prospects, they have plans when they come back".

For the nearly 1 million Syrians in Germany, the dilemma comes as the country prepares for a February 23 election. Immigration has become a major topic as parties on the left and right scramble to fend off the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany.

German Interior Minister Nancy Feser said the government would be open to allowing Syrians and Syrian-German nationals to return home once without losing their protected residence status. "This will give people who voluntarily return to Syria an impression of whether their homes are still there, whether their relatives are still alive, and whether they are truly safe in their homeland," a foreign ministry spokesman said.

However, opposition politicians criticized the prospect. Thorsten Frei, leader of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) parliamentary group, said the government changed the law three months ago to ban such trips home. He told SPIEGEL that Feser should not pursue policy "twists and turns" "out of personal whim".

This hints at how the lives of Syrians in the country have become political pawns in the campaign. Center-right and far-right members of the opposition have called on Syrians in Germany to return home as soon as possible. The CDU's Jens Spahn said Berlin should charter flights to Syria and offer a €1,000 (£830) reward to anyone who wants to return.

The idea is opposed by many employers, unions and business associations, who point out that Syrians play a vital role in alleviating the country's severe labor shortage.

A study last month by the German Economic Research Institute showed that some 80,000 Syrians work in industries with labor shortages. These include more than 4,000 mechatronics technicians in the automotive industry, approximately 2,470 dentists and dental hygienists, 2,260 child care workers and 2,160 health care workers.

The study also found that more than 5,000 Syrian doctors are fully employed in Germany and their return could lead to "serious shortages" of medical services.