Immigration
Entry law of 1970, and the largest refugee outflow of the century
Entry and residence are governed by Legislative Decree No. 29 of 1970. The dominant legal questions concern the more than five million Syrians outside the country and the conditions for voluntary return.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — National, administered by the Ministry of Interior.
Governing law
- Legislative Decree No. 29 of 1970 on entry, residence and exit of foreigners
- Law No. 33 of 1975 on Syrian nationality
In practice
Syria is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention. The pressing issues are outbound rather than inbound: over five million registered refugees in neighbouring states and Europe, and roughly seven million internally displaced. Return raises concrete legal problems — expired or absent civil documentation, military service liability for men of eligible age, property occupied or designated for redevelopment, and the legal effect of documents issued by non-state authorities. Nationality law under the 1975 statute transmits citizenship through the father, which leaves children of Syrian mothers born abroad to unregistered fathers at risk of statelessness.