Syrians in Egypt fear they will be forced to return after changes to refugee laws

Hundreds of thousands of Syrians who fled to Egypt during the civil war are now facing growing uncertainty following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Many who are considering returning to Syria remain apprehensive about how the new government will govern.

“The situation there is not stable, and we still do not know what will happen,” a Syrian business owner in Egypt told Reuters.

The legal status of Syrians in Egypt is also under question. The Egyptian government recently passed a new refugee law transferring the asylum system from the United Nations to the state. This shift allows authorities to gather additional data on refugees residing in the country.

Security officials told Reuters that no final decision has been made regarding whether Syrians will qualify as refugees under the revised legislation. At the same time, reports indicate that Egypt has been delaying the renewal of residency permits for Syrians.

Egypt claims to host 10 million refugees from neighboring countries, including Syria, Somalia, and Sudan. Government officials have often described the refugee population as an economic strain.

“There is no other country in the world hosting this number of refugees while offering them the same treatment as Egyptian citizens, despite the fact we are not a wealthy country,” Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty stated last week.

Meanwhile, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has voiced concerns about revolutionary sentiments from Syria potentially spreading to Egypt, according to a report by Middle East Eye.