Returning to Syria

If you hold a residence permit granted on the grounds of asylum and travel to your home country – the country where you risk being persecuted – your residence permit may be revoked.

If you do not have a permanent residence permit and you travel to your home country, the Immigration Service will assume that you no longer risk persecution in your home country and your residence permit may be revoked. This is the case no matter how long time you have had a temporary residence permit in Denmark.

If you hold a permanent residence permit as a refugee and you travel to your home country, the residence permit may be revoked until up to 10 years after the date where you were granted your initial residence permit. In other words, ten years must pass between the date on which the first residence permit as a refugee was granted, and the date on which you enter your home country.

If you hold a permanent residence permit and you voluntarily travel to your home country before 10 years have passed, since you were granted your first residence permit as a refugee, the Immigration Service will assume that you no longer risk persecution in your home country. If you do not counter this assumption, the residence permit will normally be revoked.
Your ‘home country’ means the country where you risk persecution.

Applying for permission to travel to your home country
When you are a refugee holding a residence permit granted in accordance with Aliens Act section 7 or section 8, it will be stated in your travel document (convention passport) or aliens passport that the passport is invalid for travel to the country or countries where you risk persecution (travel restriction).

This means that you cannot use the passport for travelling to your home country.
If you, despite this, wish to travel to your home country you can apply to have the travel restriction in your passport or travel document revoked.

You can use the PA5 online application if you want to apply for a revocation of the travel restriction. The application form includes detailed instructions for how to fill it in and which types of documentation you need to enclose.

The PA5 online form is here. You need MitID when filling the application form.
You can also use a paper-based version of the application form. Download PA5 paper-based application form (in Danish only).

Even though you have applied to have the travel restriction revoked before you travel to your home country, you will be called in for an interview when you return to Denmark. Your ‘home country’ means the country where you risk persecution.

If you give up your address in Denmark due to repatriation, meaning a voluntary permanent return to your home country, your residence permit will normally lapse.

If you are considering returning to your home country, a previous country of residence, or a country to which you have close family ties, check out the Danish Refugee Council’s (DRC) page on support for refugees who wish to return: To return home

You have an option to for an individual, personal interview with an advisor at DRC.

The purpose of the interview is to give you the best possible basis for making your decision.

DRC will provide an interpreter for the interview if you need it.  You can read more about the counseling here.

If you wish to come for an interview with a counselor at DRC, you must fill out an information form here.

Once DRC have received your information and examined your rights, they will invite you to an interview at DRC’s office in Copenhagen. The interview can also take place over the phone if you live far away. In some cases, it may take up to 5 weeks before you hear from DRC. This is due, among other things, to the fact that they need to obtain information from the authorities about your grounds for residence in Denmark in order to be able to give you the correct advice. In the interview, they will talk about, among other things:

• • Your options for receiving financial support, pension, etc.

• • Your and your family’s future plans in your home country

• • The consequences for your residence permit in Denmark, etc.

Please contact the Danish Immigration Service directly for information on how this will affect your family reunification application.

Phone number: +45 35 36 66 00
Phone hours:
Monday – Tuesday:  9.00 AM – 3.00 PM
Wednesday: Closed
Thursday: 12.00 PM – 5.00 PM
Friday: 9.00 AM – 12.00 PM (closed every other Friday on even-numbered weeks*)
You can also write to the Danish Immigration Service at [email protected] or through their online contact form. You may also wish to contact the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) for advice.

Danish Refugee Council
• Address: Borgergade 10, 1300 Copenhagen
• Phone: 📞 +45 3373 5000 (Mondays to Fridays, 9:00-15:00h) Arabic and Kurdish interpreters are available Mondays to Fridays, 9:00-14:00h.
• E-mail: 📧 [email protected] or [email protected]

The Danish Immigration Service is the responsible authority in Denmark for assisted returns to your home country. UNHCR does not offer support with transport to Syria from Denmark.
Please contact the Danish Immigration Service for more information.

Phone number: +45 35 36 66 00
Phone hours:
Monday – Tuesday:  9.00 AM – 3.00 PM
Wednesday: Closed
Thursday: 12.00 PM – 5.00 PM
Friday: 9.00 AM – 12.00 PM (closed every other Friday on even-numbered weeks*)
You can also write to the Danish Immigration Service at [email protected] or through their online contact form.

You can check out UNHCR’s Syria is Home page for information about housing and shelter in Syria here: Housing and shelter, land and property.

Right of withdrawal
If you are a refugee and return to your home country or previous country of residence with support under the Repatriation Act, you have the opportunity to reverse the decision and return to Denmark within 12 months of leaving – this is called the right of withdrawal.

The right of withdrawal also applies to persons who were granted family reunification with a refugee in Denmark – but only if the person concerned leaves Denmark and returns to Denmark together with the person who has a residence permit as a refugee in Denmark.

The rules regarding the right of withdrawal can be difficult to understand. Contact the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) for more information and assistance if you want to know whether you are also covered by the right of withdrawal. You may need to fill this form to get help from DRC about withdrawal. The form is available here.

Danish Refugee Council
Address: Borgergade 10, 1300 Copenhagen
Phone: 📞 +45 3373 5000 (Mondays to Fridays, 9:00-15:00h) Arabic and Kurdish interpreters are available Mondays to Fridays, 9:00-14:00h.
E-mail: 📧 [email protected] or [email protected]