Lebanon’s General Security Directorate issued a circular on July 1 announcing additional facilities for Syrian refugees and Palestinian refugees from Syria wishing to depart Lebanon via official land border crossings.

Under the facilitation, people who entered Lebanon lawfully or unlawfully may exit through the official land crossings without paying fees or fines and without incurring an entry ban.

These measures run through December 31, 2025. When a refugee returns to Syria under this pathway, their file with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Lebanon is closed, after which they may continue receiving services and assistance in Syria.

Voluntary return to Syria: two available programs

UNHCR began facilitating the voluntary return of refugees wishing to go back to Syria and launched two voluntary return programs on July 1.

Theresa Fraiha, the communications officer at the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Lebanon, told Enab Baladi that the UN-supported voluntary return program was launched in July and consists of two components:

• Voluntary Return “Self-Organized,” supported by UNHCR:
Refugees known to UNHCR who express a wish to return may approach UNHCR for information, services, and a one-time cash grant after an assessment confirms the voluntary nature of return. They then organize their own travel through official border points. According to UNHCR, the grant is 100 US dollars per returning family member.

• Voluntary Return “Organized,” supported by UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM):
IOM organizes transport to Syria. Refugees known to UNHCR who opt to return register their interest with UNHCR, receive information, services, and the same one-time cash grant of 100 US dollars per returning family member after a voluntariness assessment, and travel through the organized convoys.

300,000 refugees have returned

The UNHCR communications officer in Lebanon told Enab Baladi that by September 30, more than 118,000 people had registered their interest in the organized voluntary return program and received counseling on the steps and implications.

She said these figures are a positive indicator of interest in a program that only started on July 1, 2025.

Up to the time of publication, approximately 300,000 people have been deregistered from UNHCR’s rolls in Lebanon due to confirmed or presumed returns to Syria, most of them having gone back even before receiving any support from UNHCR, according to her.

As for the total numbers UNHCR expects to return from Lebanon to Syria, she said the agency anticipates that about 400,000 Syrians will return by the end of 2025, including those receiving targeted assistance for return.

Lebanon hosts an estimated 1.5 million Syrians, of whom about 636,051 are registered with UNHCR, according to the agency’s website.

Assistance after arrival in Syria

When refugees return from Lebanon through UNHCR, the agency’s team in Lebanon coordinates with UNHCR teams in Syria to follow up on their situation and provide assistance in Syria.

According to Fraiha, support includes counseling, legal aid, shelter, and cash assistance. Returnees from Lebanon may also be eligible for additional cash in Syria to support reintegration, with the most vulnerable families receiving 600 US dollars per family.

Syria’s General Authority for Land and Sea Ports says it coordinates with UNHCR in Lebanon to ensure smooth entry for returnees and to follow up on their arrival to their towns and villages in Syria, according to the Authority’s Facebook page.

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