UNHCR says 'significant' number of Syrian refugees return home from Jordan

AMMAN — The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has reported a significant increase in the number of Syrian refugees returning home from Jordan in 2024.

The total number of returnees reached approximately 17,200, including 5,100 who returned in December alone. UNHCR highlighted the sharp increase in returns in the second half of the year, noting that there were more returnees in December 2024 than in the whole of 2023, which totalled around 4,400.

According to official figures, Jordan is home to around 1.3 million Syrians, including nearly 660,000 refugees registered UNHCR, out of more than 5 million Syrian refugees in Jordan and neighboring countries.

Of those who returned in December, 64 per cent were men and boys, while 36 per cent were women and girls. Whole families accounted for 36 per cent of returnees, with all family members travelling together. About 27 per cent of the returnees were children and 5 per cent were elderly.

UNHCR also observed a daily increase in the number of registered refugee returns in January 2025. While many returnees were from Dara'a governorate, increasing numbers were returning to other regions of Syria, including Homs. 

UNHCR's helpline continues to receive requests from Syrian refugees on the procedures for returning to their home country.

UNHCR estimates that more than 125,000 Syrians have returned home since the fall of the former regime of Bashar Al Assad [on December 8], noting that the main destinations for returnees include Aleppo, Raqqa and Draa, the birthplace of Syrian uprising in 2011.

The Ministry of Interior last Saturday reported that 1,053 Syrian refugees voluntarily left camps in Jordan to return to Syria, while 10,262 refugees living outside camps also returned voluntarily.

The total number of Syrian refugees leaving through the Jaber crossing reached 11,315. Including non-refugee Syrians and those arriving from other countries, the total number of Syrians crossing through Jaber in 2024 rose to 52,406.

A Ministry of Interior source announced a new policy allowing Syrian citizens residing in Europe, America, Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to enter Jordan without prior approval. This is conditional on holding a valid residence permit in their country of origin for at least four months.

The decision is aimed at facilitating the return of Syrian expatriates to their homeland and helping them to rebuild their lives.