Voluntary Return to Syria

Yes. Returning to your home country is the right of every asylum seeker/refugee. Should you wish to return to Syria from Jordan, you can organize the process yourself and approach the Jaber Border directly. The Jaber Border Crossing is currently open 24 hours a day, 7 days per week. Or you can also choose to return to Syria through UNHCR’s support.

You may contact the UNHCR helpline (064008000) for further information and return counselling if you are planning to return.

If you are considering returning to Syria:

• Prepare your family: discuss your plans together. Share and write down important contacts. Explain to your children what is happening. Make sure they know their name, your name, and your phone number.
• Pack essentials: keep important documents with you (ID cards, passports, civil and education documents, medical records, and vaccination cards.)
• Take a sufficient supply of medicine (especially for chronic conditions), water, food, warm clothes, and any special items.
• Be aware of misinformation and rumors about return, including on social media. Call UNHCR’s helpline (064008000) with any questions.
• Ensure that you have any original documents with you, including any educational, vocational, health, or vaccination certificates issued in Jordan to bring with you to Syria.
• Remember that all UNHCR services and those of its partners in Jordan and Syria are free of charge. Be careful of imposters who request money or other services from you in the name of UNHCR.

For refugees based in refugee camps: You are required to obtain official clearance to leave the camp from the relevant authorities prior to your departure to Syria. Should you not have the proper clearance in place, the authorities will not allow you to depart Jordan. Please approach SRAD or UNHCR offices in the camp to declare your intent to return to Syria, and they can advise you on the current procedures.

The Jordanian Government permits you to bring your furniture and personal belongings back to Syria.

You should identify yourself as a refugee to the border authorities to be availed of customs facilitations using a valid UNHCR issued document (either an asylum seeker certificate or proof of registration document).  Refugees can be considered for an exemption on customs fees and taxes on basic household items, furniture (including household appliances) and food during return.

However, refugees will only be considered exempt if they are carrying used home goods, appliances, food, and furniture in quantities that align with their family size. If you are carrying excess or new/unused goods you may be subject to customs duties from Jordan. In addition, certain items may be restricted for departure from Jordan or be subject to customs fees, including gas and fuel canisters, e-bikes and motorbikes, certain electrical equipment, binoculars, and living animals. 

If you have any questions, please contact the UNHCR helpline (064008000) for support and advice.

UNHCR has recently been informed that the care-taker Government may be introducing certain customs and fees on different items entering Syria. However, this has not been implemented yet and we will keep refugees updated as more information becomes known to us.

Note: Please make sure that all the luggage in your movement belong to you and your family. Do not accept luggage or goods from any other person to be exempted under your name. Refugees who are caught transporting others’ goods will be fined by Jordanian Customs Officials.

Yes, any Syrian national residing outside of the Syria and Jordan, regardless of residency status abroad, can transit through Jordan if they have booked a connecting flight or bus ticket to Syria through specific carriers. However, those utilizing the direct connection option will need to travel directly from Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA) or Aqaba Port to the Jaber border and cannot be dropped off or stop anywhere besides the border center. For further details relating to your travel, you may contact your travel company to make sure that you follow the relevant instructions.

You are responsible for paying any debts incurred while in Jordan, including for rent, hospital bills, shopkeepers, utilities, internet service providers, etc., prior to return to Syria. Currently, there is no procedure in place to waive outstanding debts, and you could face legal issues or bans on departure if you have unpaid debts. Debts in Jordan can lead to circulations, which will prevent you from departing Jordan. If the authorities identify a circulation or travel ban against you or another member of your family, you will not be allowed to depart Jordan. UNHCR is not able to intervene in such cases at the border or advocate for a refugee’s departure. You will be asked to return to your home at your own expense to clear the circulation before departing Jordan, which will include paying the outstanding debt.

You can check for a circulation or travel ban by calling 117111 and providing your MOI card number. Please remember to check for circulations on all members of your family (including children) as often debts and circulations at public hospitals may be against a child’s name.

For legal aid and advice, please contact the hotline of the Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD) at 0777387221 (available 24/7) or UNHCR’s Helpline (06-400-8000)

Applicants residing in Jordan who have received medical services—such as treatment, childbirth, or surgery—and intend to return to Syria must ensure that all hospital bills are fully settled before approaching the Jordanian border. This includes both recent and past bills, which may be issued under the name of either an adult or a child. Applicants are required to confirm the settlement of these bills directly with the hospital they visited. Please note that UNHCR will not be able to intervene or waive any outstanding hospital fees at the border under any circumstances. 

If you have a travel ban and/or circulation in Jordan, you will not be allowed to depart Jordan, and UNHCR will be unable to assist at the border to facilitate your departure. Those who approach the border with active travel bans or circulations will be denied departure and will need to cover the costs of returning to their place of residence from the border. You can check for a circulation or travel ban by calling 117111 and providing your MOI card number. Please remember to check for circulations on all members of your family (including children) as often debts and circulations at public hospitals may be against a child’s name.

To resolve your situation, you should contact the authority that issued the travel ban and/or circulation and work on rectifying your situation. If it is a financial penalty to official authorities and/or a financial claim by individuals and/or companies, you must either pay it or settle with the concerned party, providing necessary guarantees, including having a Jordanian guarantor who ensures the payment of the obligation.

Following the settlement, you should ensure with the relevant authorities that the travel ban and/or notice is lifted prior to your return. Note that in some cases, the travel ban may not be lifted even if guarantees are provided, such as in certain criminal cases and some financial penalties owed to the state treasury. The decision to approve or deny lifting the ban lies with the concerned authorities and/or individuals.

For legal aid and advice, please contact the hotline of the Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD) at 0777387221 (available 24/7) or UNHCR’s Helpline (06-400-8000)

Upon arrival in Syria, returnees previously registered with UNHCR in Jordan and who were receiving or eligible for monthly cash assistance in Jordan, may be eligible for a one-time cash grant of $600 USD per family (regardless of family size.) This reintegration cash grant is intended to support you to re-establish yourself in your home country.

Please note that not all returnees are eligible for this grant, and refugees should not base their return decision on the expectation of receiving the reintegration grant. UNHCR Syria will only contact returnees who may be found eligible. More information can be found at the Syria is Home website.

If found eligible, you will be contacted by UNHCR in Syria via WhatsApp from the number: +41 22355 0561 with details about when and where to collect the assistance.

Please note you cannot apply for this one-time reintegration cash grant in Syria from UNHCR in Jordan, and the assistance is not distributed by UNHCR staff in Jordan, including those at the Jaber Border.

The reintegration grant is payable one time per family. If a member of your family registered on your UNHCR file in Jordan has already returned to Syria and received the reintegration cash grant, you and your remaining family members in Jordan will not be eligible for another reintegration cash grant from UNHCR Syria if you later decide to return to Syria.

Please continue to monitor the Syria is Home website for updates on the program.

If you or your family member is a Syrian refugee who has already voluntarily returned to Syria and your individual file has been inactivated by UNHCR in Jordan, your personal data will be processed by UNHCR in Syria for the purposes of identifying beneficiaries for basic needs assistance.

Your personal data may also be shared with UNHCR’s trusted partners in Syria, including WFP and UNICEF, for the same reason. The data may include the following:  

• Basic biodata: e.g., full name, mother’s name, gender, date of birth, country, and area of origin, area of return, birthplace, ethnicity, education and occupation, date, and mode of your return to Syria, your marital status, your family composition. 
• Necessary information about any specific needs (e.g., health conditions) that you or your family members may have to allow for more targeted assistance and support, 
• Major life events in the country of origin and/or the country of asylum  
• Photo, fingerprints and iris scan for identification and assistance distribution
• Contact information such as address in Syria and phone number to be able to contact you over WhatsApp. 

The Syrian embassy currently issues new passports and renews expired passports. All these procedures are now done electronically. You need to visit the website (www.ecsc-expat.sy), create an account on the mentioned platform, then select the “My Information” window from the homepage and fill in the required personal data. After that, choose ‘specify the transaction (book an appointment at the embassy)’, then select the appropriate mission, then choose the type of transaction and the date.

If you are planning on traveling with a child who is not your biological child or if you are traveling with your biological child but without the second parent, you must ensure that you have proper custody documents in place to facilitate your return. If you approach the Jaber border without the necessary documents, your departure can be cancelled.

You can obtain a document of ‘no objection’ for the children to travel with just one of the parents or with the accompanying relative. This can be obtained from the police station or Sharia court nearest to you. In addition, you should carry with you all the relevant documents for the child (including family book, birth certificates, passport/laissez-passer.)

For legal aid and advice, please contact the hotline of the Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD) at 0777387221 (available 24/7) or UNHCR’s Helpline (064008000)

To ratify documents issued from Jordan, follow these steps:

1. Obtain Complete Stamps: Ensure that the documents have all the necessary stamps from the issuing authority (such as the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, professional associations, hospitals, courts, etc.).
2. Visit Authentication Offices: Go to the authentication offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates to get the required authentications for the stamps mentioned in the first step.

Ratification at the Syrian Embassy: Finally, ratify the documents at the Syrian Embassy.

If you have a work permit and intend to leave Jordan, there are few important points to note:

• For Cash for Work (CFW) Work permits there is no need to cancel your work permit. Please approach the SSC to close your file and withdraw your contributions through the online procedure.
• For a Flexible Work Permit: If valid, you must cancel the work permit (cancelation for the purposes of withdrawing SSC contributions) at the General Federation of Jordanian Trade Unions (GFJTU) Offices and stamped from MOL/directorate. If expired by more than 90 days, it must be reissued and cancelled and then approach the SSC to close your file and apply to withdraw your contributions through the online procedure.
• For a Work Permit tied to a specific employer: You must cancel the work permit before departure at the Ministry of Labor/Directorate together with a representative for your employer and obtain written clearance from your employer before leaving the country. Once complete, you can approach the SSC to close your file and withdraw your contributions through the online procedure.

If you’ve decided to return to Syria and wish to withdraw your Social Security subscription, you must cancel your work permit as part of the process as noted in question V.6. To proceed, visit the Social Security Corporation’s E-Services page.

If you haven’t paid your Social Security subscriptions, you may not be able to withdraw your subscription when you return to Syria. It’s important to ensure that all payments are up to date before leaving. There will be no fees required by the Ministry of Labor (MOL) when you return.

To withdraw your contributions, you can apply online – if you have contributed for less than 10 years, you will receive 10% of the total contributions, and 12% for those who contributed for 11-18 years.

Currently, refugees with a flexible work permit who have a clear record (after paying all previous contributions) can withdraw their social security contributions.

Explosive devices, unexploded ordnance, and other remnants of war continue to present risks across Syria. Before returning to or entering an area, always check with local authorities, neighbors, or trusted sources to confirm it is safe.

1. If any explosive remnants are found, immediately inform local authorities to ensure the area’s safety.
2. Keep children as far away as possible from abandoned places and destroyed buildings (a distance of 1 km is recommended).
3. If you suspect any strange object, do not try to touch or approach it. Move away from the area and inform others in the region not to approach.
4. Place a warning sign indicating the area is dangerous when it is safe to do so.

Stay away from the area if authorities are clearing explosive remnants.

Syrian university students enrolled in Jordan will be able to continue their education if they stay in Jordan through the existing enrollment procedures. For those students on scholarship at Jordanian universities, UNHCR has not been informed of any changes to scholarship programs and changes are not anticipated at the current time.