German and Austrian governments push Syrian return incentives

Hessen’s interior minister Roman Poseck said the state should organise regular charter flights to Syria and offer voluntary‑return bonuses of up to €10,000 for Syrian refugees who are not fully integrated, arguing that “Straftäter und Gefährder allerdings müssen zuerst gehen.” He stressed that well‑integrated Syrians, especially those with German citizenship, could remain, while the financial incentive would help cover social‑benefit savings.

Austria’s interior minister Gerhard Karner unveiled a “special action” to promote voluntary return of Syrian asylum seekers, providing a one‑time grant of up to €3,000 (or €1,500 for those with a residence permit) together with covered travel costs and reintegration programmes. Since 2015 about 130,000 Syrians have sought protection in Austria, but only roughly 2,000 have left, of whom 1,300 did so voluntarily. The new scheme aims to increase that figure.