Denmark’s government is negotiating a Syria deal on forced returns that would allow the forced repatriation of rejected Syrian asylum seekers and certain criminal offenders from Denmark to Syria for the first time since the civil war began, despite ongoing questions over safety, human rights and international law.
First Danish visit to Syria in 15 years
The discussions on a possible forced returns agreement were confirmed by Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen during a visit to Syria, the first by a Danish minister in 15 years. The trip marks a new phase in the relationship between Copenhagen and Damascus following the overthrow of former president Bashar al-Assad and the rise to power of current president Ahmed al-Sharaa, the former leader of the Islamist movement Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
According to Rasmussen, the Syrian government has signalled willingness to “dive into” and cooperate on an arrangement for the return of Syrians without legal residence in Denmark. Until now, the absence of cooperation from Damascus has made it practically impossible to deport rejected asylum seekers or criminal offenders to Syria.
The visit also follows similar announcements from Swedish ministers, who have indicated that Stockholm wants to explore cooperation with Syria on returns. Together, these moves suggest that some Nordic governments are testing how far they can go in tightening migration policy after the political transition in Syria.
Who could be sent back under the forced return plan
For now, the plan targets a relatively small group of people. Denmark’s Home Return Agency has identified around 72 Syrian nationals in the country who have either received a final rejection on their asylum application or lost their residence permit due to serious criminal offences and no longer have a legal right to stay.
These are the individuals the government hopes to include first in any forced repatriation mechanism negotiated with Damascus. Without a formal agreement, they remain stuck in legal limbo: they cannot be deported, but they also lack a durable status in Denmark.
At the same time, around 40,000 Syrians live in Denmark with time-limited residence permits, either as refugees or through family reunification. While the government insists that the focus is on people without legal stay, refugee organisations warn that a concrete agreement on deportations to Syria could gradually expand to include a broader group, especially as Danish authorities have already reviewed and, in some cases, revoked protection for Syrians from areas considered safer.
Paying Syria to take back refugees and rejected asylum seekers
The government has also opened the door to economic support for Syria as part of the negotiations. Immigration and Integration Minister Rasmus Stoklund has indicated that Denmark is prepared to increase financial assistance if this is what it takes to reach an agreement on returns.
Support could include funding for reception facilities, reintegration programmes or infrastructure in areas where returnees are expected to settle. The idea is to frame the deal as part of a broader contribution to Syria’s reconstruction and stabilisation, rather than a simple payment in exchange for accepting deported refugees and rejected asylum seekers.
Critics argue that this approach risks creating a market for refugee returns, where countries with strained asylum systems pay fragile or authoritarian governments to take back people who may still face insecurity, surveillance or persecution. They also question whether Danish funds can realistically guarantee safety and basic rights for returnees once they arrive in Syria.
Human rights concerns over deportations to Syria
Human rights organisations and refugee advocates warn that any forced returns to Syria could violate the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits sending people back to a place where they risk serious harm. Despite the political transition and a gradual increase in voluntary returns, international bodies such as the UN refugee agency and the Council of the EU still consider Syria unsafe for large-scale repatriations.
Reports from NGOs and UN agencies describe a country where arbitrary arrests, disappearances, torture and economic collapse remain widespread, and where security conditions vary sharply between regions. These concerns do not disappear because the leadership has changed: the new authorities include figures with an armed background, and institutions responsible for past abuses are still in place.
Legal experts point out that, even if Denmark negotiates guarantees with the Syrian government, it will be difficult to monitor what happens to individuals after their arrival. This is particularly sensitive in the case of rejected asylum seekers and people with criminal records, who may be viewed with suspicion by local authorities.
Nordic and EU debates on returning refugees to conflict zones
The possible Danish-Syrian agreement is likely to feed into a broader Nordic and EU debate on how to handle long-term refugee populations from conflict zones such as Syria. Several European governments face domestic pressure to reduce asylum numbers and to move from temporary protection to return policies as conditions change on the ground.
In recent years, Denmark has already stood out by reviewing and, in some cases, withdrawing residence permits from Syrians from areas it considers relatively safe, prompting criticism from the United Nations, NGOs and legal experts. Other EU countries have so far been more cautious, keeping in place a de facto moratorium on forced returns to government-controlled parts of Syria.
If Copenhagen concludes a formal Syria deal on forced returns, it could set a precedent for other European governments that are looking for ways to encourage or enforce returns after years of hosting Syrian refugees. At the same time, it risks deepening tensions within the EU between member states pushing for tougher migration policies and those prioritising protection standards.
For the thousands of Syrians still living in Denmark and other Nordic countries, the negotiations add a new layer of uncertainty. The outcome will shape not only the future of the 72 people currently in the authorities’ sights, but also the long-term balance between protection, return and integration in Europe’s approach to the Syrian displacement crisis.
