Syria invites undocumented Palestinian refugees to legalise for first time in decades

The Syrian government on Sunday called on all Palestinians in Syria to register with the authorities in a move aimed at ending decades of statelessness among tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees.

In a circular, the General Authority for Palestinian Arab Refugees said that it was allowing unregistered Palestinians to obtain official Syrian-Palestinian documents for the first time.

The authority, which operates under the social affairs and labour ministry, said that registration requests must be submitted either to the authority or to its provincial branches, along with the required documents and paperwork.

Unlike those who fled the Nakba in 1948, Palestinians who arrived in Syria after 1956 have not been registered with the government and are treated as foreigners.

A 1956 law guaranteed Palestinian refugees the same rights as Syrian citizens but was not applied to those who fled to the country during the 1967 war and the 1970 conflict in Jordan.

This has left them unable to obtain work permits and denied access to basic services such as healthcare and education. They are also required to renew their visas every year.

More than 80% of Palestinian refugees in Syria are below the poverty line and are reliant on humanitarian support.

The number of unregistered Palestinians living in Syria is unknown. The UN Palestinian refugee agency's (UNRWA) registry does not include most people who came to the country in the decades following the 1948 war.

Palestinian lawyer Ayman Abu Hashem praised the authorities' decision but warned that the rules would continue to prevent Palestinians from registering.

Among the registration conditions is a requirement to have a valid residency card issued by the interior ministry, which he said would disqualify most people.

The move was welcomed by those in Syria and abroad. Speaking to The New Arab's Arabic sister site, Abu Hani Abdulrahman - a Palestinian who arrived in Syria from Jordan in 1970 - said the decision was a bittersweet moment.

He explained how, due to his unresolved legal status in Syria, he once considered encouraging his son to go to Jordan, hoping that being jailed and released there might allow for legal document that could help his family.

Salamah al-Hassan, whose family came to the country after 1967, said he constantly suffers due to his lack of documentation.

He told Al Araby Al Jadeed that, despite possessing dozens of documents from Palestinian embassies and the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, none grant him access to employment, university education, or even the ability to get a travel document.