ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Thursday announced a series of measures aimed at facilitating the return of Syrians to their home country, including waiving penalties for expired or unissued residency permits. In a statement, the KRG’s ministry of interior said Syrians whose residency permits have expired, or who entered the Kurdistan Region without obtaining one, will be granted a 60-day grace period to visit residency offices and apply for or renew their documents. They will also be exempted from penalties. It also noted that those who do not wish to remain in the Kurdistan Region will be “exempted from penalties for late renewal or non-issuance of residency.” To support returnees who cannot afford airfare, the KRG will also provide free transportation to Syria via the border crossing with Kurdish-controlled northeast Syria (Rojava). The exact number of Syrians currently living in the Kurdistan Region is unclear, but government data indicates that over 250,000 Syrian refugees - mostly fleeing the civil war over the past decade - have taken refuge in the Region. A group of rebel groups, led by the now-dissolved Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), ousted the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in December. Since then, significant numbers of Syrians have returned from neighboring countries. However, ongoing violence, particularly the mass killing of Alawites in western Syria, has discouraged many from returning.
