Services and Assistance in Syria

Once you arrive in Syria, you will have access to a range of services from UNHCR and its partners through Community Centres and other facilities in your area of return. These services are based on need, availability, and are tailored to assist specific circumstances:

• Legal assistance: Free legal services to help navigate challenges related to asylum, documentation, and other legal matters.
• Healthcare: Where available, access to healthcare services address basic medical needs, particularly for vulnerable groups.
• Education and child protection: Services for children, including access to education and child protection are available based on local resources.
• Shelter and non-food items: Shelter support and essential non-food items is prioritized based on urgency and specific needs.
• Psychosocial support: Specialized programmes, including mental health and psychosocial support, is available to help with trauma and other challenges.
• Family tracing: If you have been separated from your family, UNHCR, in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and local partners, provides family tracing services to help reunite families. These services are free and are aimed at reconnecting individuals with lost or missing family members.
• Community Centers and  Satellite Centers are available across Syria, where you can find services closest to your location.

For more information, visit  Syria is Home: syriaishome.org.

If you or someone you know experienced gender-based violence in Syria, you can also contact UNFPA for psychosocial support, legal advice and medical support:

• Call (+963) 0119416 or 0951444190 for free (open 24 hours, seven days a week).

If you are returning from Lebanon through Qaa/Joussieh, you might be eligible for transportation support. This service is free of charge and managed by UNHCR partners in Syria.

For more details, visit: Syria is Home.

You can enrol your children in public schools in Syria at any time during the school year. You will need to provide your children’s educational transcripts from Lebanon for their academic equivalency assessment.

If these documents are unavailable, students in grade 1 to 8 must take a placement test in Syria to determine their academic level. Students without an accredited Grade 9 certificate must take the Grade 9 standard exam administered by the Syrian Ministry of Education.

Formal basic, secondary, and vocational education documents can be obtained from the school you have attended in Lebanon. They should be validated by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Syrian Embassy in Beirut. For university certificates, validation by all three entities is particularly important.

For guidance on how to obtain and certify education diplomas in Lebanon: click here

Informal education and training certificates cannot be validated by Lebanese official entities but could help upon your return to Syria. Try to obtain diplomas/certificates from the organizer/facilitator for informal studies and trainings you have attended prior to departure.
As the situation in Syria continues to evolve, stay informed on procedures.

For more information about access to education in Syria and the documents required, visit Syria Is Home (Syriaishome.org) or contact a community center in Syria: unhcr.org/sy/cc.

If you or your family member has already returned to Syria–either at your own initiative, with community support, or through a UNHCR return programme—and your individual file has been closed by UNHCR in Lebanon, your personal data will be processed by UNHCR in Syria and may be shared with UNHCR partners in Syria, including WFP and UNICEF, to facilitate any assistance. This includes:

• Biographical data (full name, date of birth, nationality, family composition)
• Necessary information about any specific needs (e.g. health condition) you or accompanying family members may have
• Contact information (e.g. phone number)

As part of this assistance, you may be eligible for a one-time reintegration cash grant of USD 600 per family provided by UNHCR in Syria. This cash grant is only payable one-time per family. This means that if a member of your nuclear family registered on your UNHCR file in Lebanon has already returned to Syria and received the reintegration cash grant, you and your remaining family members in Lebanon will not be eligible for another reintegration cash grant from UNHCR in Syria if you later decide to return.

If eligible, you will be contacted by UNHCR in Syria via WhatsApp (+41 22 355 0561) or via SMS within two months after return with details about when and where to collect the assistance.

NOTE: you cannot apply for this one-time reintegration cash grant in Syria from UNHCR in Lebanon.

If you have a chronic disease such as diabetes, asthma, hypertension or heart disease, make sure to request a summary of your medical report and prescribed medication from your healthcare provider in Lebanon before you travel. You will need to show these documents to a healthcare provider in Syria to continue treatment there.

Approach the nearest Primary Health Care Center to check if your children are up to date with their vaccinations. Children up to 18 years of age can receive required vaccinations free of charge at either location. Make sure to update and bring their vaccination booklets.

When traveling to Syria, bring your medical pregnancy report from Lebanon and a supply of any medication you are taking. In Syria, approach the nearest community center for referral to maternity and child health care services.

• Information on Community Centers in Syria: Contact For Syrians – UNHCR Syria

For support tracing missing family members inside Syria:

• Call the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC): ? 093 603 3628 (add +963 if you are calling from outside Syria)

Note: Former detainees in Syria can call ICRC at ? 095 355 5431 to request urgent medical and psychosocial assistance and support finding/contacting families.