Is financial support or cash assistance available for returnees?
If you are a Syrian refugee returned permanently to Syria, your family maybe eligible to receive a one-time cash grant of USD 600 from UNHCR Syria to support your settling back home.
This assistance is not provided to everyone who returned to Syria.
UNHCR Syria has started distributing Return and Reintegration Financial Assistance for Syrian refugees returning from Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt, based on their eligibility for cash assistance in the host country.
Distribution of Return and Reintegration Grant for eligible Syrian refugees returning from Türkiye and other countries has not yet started.
This assistance is provided only once upon return into Syria.
Who is Eligible for the Return and Reintegration Financial Assistance?
Vulnerable Syrian refugee families, who were eligible for monthly cash assistance in the host country, then returned permanently (not for visit) to Syria, are eligible for Return and Reintegration Financial Assistance.
For returnees from Türkiye; Those who were beneficiaries under Social Safety Net – SSN (ESSN – C-SSN) or families with a member with special needs who received the cash assistance for return in Türkiye are eligible for the same assistance.
For returnees from Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt; Those who were eligible for monthly cash assistance, have valid identification document (national ID or valid passport) information recorded with UNHCR, and active WhatsApp number registered with UNHCR in the host country are currently being notified for cash distribution.
For all other Syrian refugee returnees requesting cash assistance: Enrollment and eligibility assessment has not yet started, the update will be given as soon as it is ready.
Some of my family members are still in the host country. Does it mean I’m not eligible?
The Return and Reintegration Financial Assistance provided by UNHCR in Syria is only payable one-time per family. This means that if a member of your family registered on your UNHCR file in the host country or registered under the same Family Number of Temporary Protection ID Card in Türkiye has already returned to Syria and has received the Return and Reintegration Financial Assistance from UNHCR in Syria, you and your remaining family members in the host country will not be eligible for another Return and Reintegration Financial Assistance from UNHCR in Syria if you later decide to return to Syria.
What is the amount of Return and Reintegration Financial Assistance?
The grant amount has increased from 400 USD to 600 USD recently. Those who have already received 400 USD are entitled to receive the difference of 200 USD and will be notified as soon as the distribution is ready.
How do I know /confirm that my family is eligible?
UNHCR Syria intends to first contact refugee returnee families who are eligible for the cash assistance and have an identification document (national ID or valid passport) from +41223550561 WhatsApp number or a text message from UNHCR Syria to inform them about their eligibility within two months of arrival to Syria as per below text:
“UNHCR in Syria wishes to inform you that your case [CASE NUMBER] is eligible for one-time cash assistance. You will receive a separate message when the assistance is ready for collection”
Eligible refugee returnees’ families will receive another notification through WhatsApp once cash distribution is ready to inform when and where to collect the assistance as the following text.
“The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Syria wishes to inform you that your family is eligible to receive a one-time cash grant, as a family returning from outside Syria. The total value of the grant is 600 USD.
Please go to [name of a financial institution], [ branch name] Branch, with your passport/ID number ending with [last three digit] to collect the assistance starting from [date] until [date].
If the above-mentioned branch is outside your current governorate, or if you have any issues or questions, please contact UNHCR call centre [[01121812333] during working hours.”
How can I be contacted by UNHCR?
Please keep the WhatsApp number that is registered with UNHCR in the host country since that’s the only way UNHCR Syria can reach you.
If the number on which WhatsApp was active is changed, or a Syrian number is added, please contact UNHCR call centre on this number [01121812333].The WhatsApp number +41223550561 is only used to send messages and can’t receive calls or messages.
If you have returned more than 2 months ago and not received notification, it is likely that UNHCR Syria has not been notified of your return to Syria, your eligibility has not yet been confirmed, or information about your documentation and/or contact number is not registered with UNHCR in the host country.
UNHCR will be sending an electronic form via WhatsApp from its official number (+41223550561) or through a text message from UNHCR Syria to eligible refugee returnee families whose records do not include valid identification document number. The form will ask for personal data of the eligible beneficiaries to verify their identity and update essential information.
UNHCR assures you that this process is official, genuine, and secure. Your personal data will be handled confidentially and used solely to ensure you receive the assistance you are entitled to.
For more details on how your data is protected, please read UNHCR privacy notice : https://help.unhcr.org/syria/unhcr-privacy-notice/
If you receive such a message on WhatsApp and have any doubts, please contact us through our official HelpPage to confirm.
How will UNHCR collect missing information?
UNHCR is launching a dedicated call centre to address enquiries of refugee returnees.
If you were a Syrian refugee who have recently returned to Syria, and need information about the return and reintegration cash assistance, want to add or update your information, please call 01121812333
Operating hours: 8:30 am to 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, Sunday to Thursday.
Official weekends: Friday and Saturday.
Due to the expected high call volume, you may not get through on the first attempt. Please try again. Our call centre team is committed to respond during the working hours.
Important: All UNHCR services are free of charge. The call centre itself is not toll-free, but there is no fee for the information we provide
What should I do before return?
Before you leave the country of asylum, please take the following actions:
- If you are residing and registered or recorded with UNHCR in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq or Egypt, please ensure that WhatsApp is registered with your phone number and remain reachable on WhatsApp. UNHCR Syria will contact you from +41223550561 WhatsApp number to inform you when and where tocollect your assistance if you are eligible.
- If you are residing in Türkiye and applied to Provincial Directorate of Migration (PDMM) for voluntarily returning to Syria, please keep a photocopy of your and family members’ Temporary Protection ID card (Kimlik) before you depart from Türkiye. Please ensure that WhatsApp is registered with your phone number that you provide to PDMM and keep your WhatsApp account active. UNHCR Syria will contact you from +41223550561 WhatsApp number to inform you when and where tocollect your assistance if you are eligible.
- If you are neither of the above, please check this page or UNHCR Syria Help Page for updates about available services and assistance upon return to Syria.
What should I do after return?
- Check UNHCR Syria Help Page and Syria is Home for updates.
- Visit UNHCR-supported Community Centre to get information on services/assistance available in your area of return.
- Make sure your phone is on, and WhatsApp is working — this is how UNHCR will reach you.
- UNHCR will inform you when, where and how to receive the cash assistance if you are eligible, once distribution is starting. To inquire about the cash assistance or to update your data, please call UNHCR call centre on this number 01121812333
Common clarifications and issues
(UNHCR) in Syria has received notes and inquiries from returning refugees about the cash assistance process. Below are clarifications on the main recurring issues:
- Confusion about the reintegration grant: Some refugees living in the country of asylum received WhatsApp or text messages about the “return and reintegration cash grant” from UNHCR in Syria. This grant is only for a one-time purpose for those returning permanently to Syria. If you are still outside Syria, please ignore the message and do not use any attached link.
- Duration for receiving assistance: If the form was completed using the link sent via the message and the assistance has not been received yet, please note that verification and processing may take several weeks. Updates will be sent via UNHCR’s official WhatsApp number or via a UNHCR text message as soon as they are available.
- UNHCR partner and community center numbers: Updated numbers and addresses can be found on UNHCR Syria’s Help Page in Syria and on the Syria: Home page (closest available services).
- Please contact UNHCR call centre at this number 01121812333 in the following cases:
- Errors in names or document numbers: Some messages may contain typographical mistakes such as misspelling a name or an incorrect identity number. Please contact the call centre and there is no need to contact UNHCR in the country of asylum.
- Message sent in the name of another household member who is not present (deceased or traveling): If the recipient’s name mentioned in the cash assistance message is not available, an adult returning family member can contact UNHCR call centre to update family data and obtain the necessary guidance.
- Unable to receive assistance within the withdrawal period: If the withdrawal period stated in the message is insufficient and the recipient could not receive the assistance in the specified period, please contact UNHCR call centre in Syria to report the situation.
- One family member in the country of asylum and another in Syria: If the message includes a name of a person still in the country of asylum while another family member has returned to Syria, the family currently in Syria can contact UNHCR call centre to verify eligibility and update family data.
Disclaimer:
- Verify the source of information related to UNHCR to avoid misinformation.
- Avoid interacting with fake pages on social media sites or calls and messages claiming to be from the UNHCR or its partners.
- UNHCR Syria is currently only communicating with some Syrian Refugee returnees using WhatsApp number +41223550561, which is designed to send out messages but not ready to receive messages or calls. and through text messages by (UNHCR) with the refugee returnees who have a Syrian contact number registered in the data of UNHCR Syria or in the host country.
- Do not share personal information such as name, phone number, passwords, bank details, or identification numbers with any unverified.
