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Thousands of Syrian refugees in Lebanon are preparing to return home this week under the first U.N.-supported plan that offers financial incentives.
This marks the first mass return program since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
The move comes after the current Syrian government said it is ready to welcome all citizens back to the country.
Lebanon’s Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Haneen Al-Sayed announced that every Syrian refugee returning from Lebanon will receive $100, while each family will be granted $400 upon arrival in Syria.
Transport is also covered and fees have been waived by border authorities, she said.
"I think it's a good and important start. We have discussed and are coordinating this with our Syrian counterparts and I think the numbers will increase in the coming weeks," Sayed told Reuters.
The situation of Syrian refugees in Lebanon has long been a subject of debate. The most recent campaign, launched by the Free Patriotic Movement party, was titled "Occupiers Disguised as Displaced."
Given the global rate of Syrian refugees, Lebanon has the largest refugee population in the world relative to its population, hosting approximately 1.5 million Syrians among a population of approximately 4 million Lebanese.
According to the U.N. refugee agency, since the fall of the regime in Syria on Dec. 8, new arrivals have entered Lebanon, including approximately 91,000 Syrians and Lebanese to Baalbek Governorate in the Bekaa, as well as over 15,000 recent new arrivals to the north of the country fleeing recent violence in Syria’s coastal areas as of March 17.
Lebanon’s Minister of Social Affairs Haneen Al-Sayed said that around 11,000 Syrian refugees have registered to return in the first week of a new U.N.-supported repatriation plan.
The government aims to facilitate the return of between 200,000 and 400,000 refugees over the course of this year.
The Lebanese government is focusing on informal settlements, where an estimated 200,000 Syrian refugees currently reside. Sayed noted that individuals who remain in Lebanon to support their families may be granted work permits in sectors such as agriculture and construction, provided their families return to Syria.
A U.N. survey conducted earlier this year showed a significant shift in attitudes, with nearly 30% of Syrian refugees in the region expressing a desire to return—up from just 2% during Assad’s earlier years in power.
By the end of June 2025, the UNHCR estimates that over 628,000 Syrians had returned to Syria from neighboring countries since Dec. 8, 2024, including approximately 191,000 from Lebanon.
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