The Minister for Asylum and Migration must reassess the security situation in Syria

After the fall of the Assad regime, the

The minister should also have considered the humanitarian situation in Syria: the healthcare and education systems are weak, and many refugees no longer have a home to return to. For this reason, the Minister of Asylum and Migration must reassess the overall security situation in Syria. The Council of State ruled as much on 11 November 2026.

The Council of State has ruled that the

According to the Council of State, the IND did not take sufficient account of the humanitarian conditions in Syria when assessing this risk.

The ruling, therefore, does not only concern the asylum application of one Syrian man, but is also important for other Syrian asylum seekers.

According to the minister, a new situation has arisen following the fall of the previous regime in Syria. That is why he came up with a new policy towards Syria in June 2025.

That policy states that there is less arbitrary violence throughout Syria. This means that a person from Syria does not automatically receive protection based on the general security situation in the country. An asylum seeker must also explain why he or she is personally at risk.

The Council of State has now ruled that the minister did not adequately explain why he is assuming that the situation in Syria is entirely new. According to the Council of State, the current security situation cannot be viewed in isolation from the years-long civil war. The minister must therefore also consider the humanitarian situation in Syria and the humanitarian consequences of what the former regime did, or failed to do, during the war.

The IND must now reconsider the asylum application of the Syrian man who initiated the lawsuit. In doing so, the IND must take all relevant circumstances into account in order to reassess the overall security situation in Syria.

In this regard, the IND cannot rely solely on the existing country policy regarding Syria. According to the Council of State, that assessment was incomplete.

With this ruling, the Council of State does not itself determine how safe or unsafe Syria is. It is up to the Minister of Asylum and Migration to reassess the situation and then make a new decision regarding the asylum application.

The ruling has implications for Syrian asylum cases that are currently under

It is also expected that the country policy for Syria will be revised. A new

The ruling does not mean that all Syrian asylum seekers will automatically be granted a residence permit. Even if the level of violence in Syria is assessed as higher, asylum seekers may still need to explain why they are personally at risk due to that violence or for other reasons. It is therefore important that they continue to explain their personal circumstances.

The IND is postponing the rejection of Syrian asylum applications for the time being. This follows rulings by the Council of State on 11 November 2026. The Council of State considers that the minister must provide a clearer explanation of and assessment of the situation in Syria. Consequently, the IND will not, for the time being, issue negative decisions on Syrian asylum applications. The IND may, however, issue positive decisions and continue to hold hearings. The IND may also continue to decide on applications for family reunification. The IND expects to issue a new explanation within two weeks. It will then become clear when the IND can resume issuing negative decisions.