Habitual residence

[bobbo]

Hi all.
I have a bit of a problem and was wondering if anyone else had encountered it.

I moved to Ireland 7 years ago with my girlfriend who is an Irish citizen. This January my son who is 19 asked if he could come and live with us from the uk. I emailed the social welfare to see if he would be eligible for social welfare until he found work. They told me he could.

He signed on when he arrived on January 25th he had an assessment about 6 weeks later. Today we received a letter stating he has been refused benefits on the the grounds that he is not habitually resident in Ireland. Of course he is he lives with me.

we have looked in to it a bit and found that if you are a uk citizen and lived in the uk all your life then you should be allowed habitual residency in Ireland because of something called the common travel area. We are at a loss to why they think he is not living here.

If anyone could help with some advice it would be much appreciated.
Thanks.

[Ben]

You're right.

4. HABITUAL RESIDENCE - National law

The habitual residence condition is included in the particular Section listing the conditions of entitlement for each of the relevant schemes.

In addition, Section 246 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 provides that:

"it shall be presumed, until the contrary is shown, that a person is not habitually resident in the State at the date of the making of the application concerned unless he has been present in the State or any other part of the Common Travel Area for a continuous period of 2 years ending on that date."

[bobbo]

You're right.

4. HABITUAL RESIDENCE - National law

The habitual residence condition is included in the particular Section listing the conditions of entitlement for each of the relevant schemes.

In addition, Section 246 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 provides that:

"it shall be presumed, until the contrary is shown, that a person is not habitually resident in the State at the date of the making of the application concerned unless he has been present in the State or any other part of the Common Travel Area for a continuous period of 2 years ending on that date."

Hi thanks for the reply. Yes we have read that and we are very confused why they have said he is not habitually resident. He has lived in the uk all his life. do you know if any others from the uk have encountered this problem.

[Ben]

do you know if any others from the uk have encountered this problem.

I'm afraid not.

I would suggest writing to the Deciding Officer and ask that they review their decision. If that fails, send an appeal to Dublin.

If you need further opinion I would advise asking here.

[bobbo]

do you know if any others from the uk have encountered this problem.

I'm afraid not.

I would suggest writing to the Deciding Officer and ask that they review their decision. If that fails, send an appeal to Dublin.

If you need further opinion I would advise asking here.

ok thanks for your help.

[Ben]

ok thanks for your help.

Welcome.

[IrishTom]

Bearing in mind the presumption clause in Section 246 (see Part 4), and the reciprocal arrangements with the UK concerning the *Common Travel Area (CTA), for the purpose of this factor periods of residence within the CTA immediately prior to moving to live in Ireland should be treated the same as periods of residence in Ireland. This arrangement applies only to UK citizens and EEA nationals who had retained their centre of interest within the Common Travel Area during these periods.

* Ireland is part of the Common Travel Area which also includes England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.The CTA agreement means that there are no legal barriers to a UK citizen who wishes to transfer their residence, temporarily or permanently, to Ireland, but all the HRC criteria should be examined in the usual way to determine whether the person has actually transferred their habitual residence to this State.

Where a person has been in Ireland only for a short period, consider why s/he has come to Ireland. For example, if a person comes for any of the following reasons s/he is unlikely to be habitually resident in the State:

* to study;
* for holidays;
* to visit friends;
* to do seasonal work;
* for medical treatment;
* posted by his/her employer abroad to work in Ireland (see Paragraphs 5.3 and 6.1);
* to seek employment (rather than to take up an actual job offer).

http://www.welfare.ie/EN/OperationalGui ... #hrfactors

If he was has two years worth of stamps paid in the UK, he can transfer them over to Ireland and receive Jobseekers benefit which is circa 200 euro per week. Otherwise, he will receive Jobseekers allowance which is in and around 100 euro for those under 23.

[Ben]

If he was has two years worth of stamps paid in the UK, he can transfer them over to Ireland and receive Jobseekers benefit which is circa 200 euro per week.

Are you sure Tom?

Contributions you have paid in other member states of the EU/EEA will be added to your Irish contributions. If you are applying for Jobseeker's Benefit and need the contributions paid in another EU/EEA country to help you qualify, then your last contribution must have been in Ireland.

It doesn't mention an exemption in the case of people coming from the UK there, unless you've seen something like that mentioned elsewhere?

[IrishTom]

Are you sure Tom?

No, not 100%.

I. Contributory or Social Insurance payments which are made on the basis of your PRSI record. PRSI is very similar to National Insurance payments you make from your pay in the UK. Some people call them "stamps".

To qualify, you should have sufficient weeks of contribution made at the correct rate or class on your record. Your National Insurance record in Britain can help you to qualify for these payments in Ireland. Bring any P60's (Employee annual pay, tax and National Insurance record) you have to Ireland with you as they may help you to qualify for contributory benefits.

Can help you, that is a very vague statement.

It doesn't mention an exemption in the case of people coming from the UK there, unless you've seen something like that mentioned elsewhere?

Benefits for Unemployed people
Transferring Unemployment Benefits
If you are receiving Unemployment Benefit in Britain and you move to Ireland then you can still receive payments. To qualify, you should have been registered as unemployed in Britain for at least four weeks before leaving the country. It is important to inform the Benefits office in Britain of your intention to move at least four weeks before you depart. There you can acquire Forms EIO4 and E301, which will help avoid delays to your payment on return. The transferred payment is made for up to 13 weeks. You can then apply for Unemployment Assistance in Ireland.

It looks like he would have to return to the UK for at least four weeks to avail of this.

To the OP,

Ignore my previous statement in post 6. I cant find the relevant documents to back it up. I can only over anecdotal evidence of jobseekers transfering their benefit to the UK and vice versa.

While your son awaits on the welfare to make a decision, he can arrange an interview with the Community Welfare Officer and apply for SWA. I dont know the ins and outs but the receptionist at your local dole shop should fill him in on all the details.

EDIT- Heres the link - http://communitywelfareservice.ie/cws_p ... sic-income

EDIT AGAIN - Heres an interesting article on benefits/habitual residency. Not good news, I am afraid, OP.


THOUSANDS of Irish citizens forced to emigrate to find work will be barred from receiving any social welfare payments for two years, if they return to this country.
The Irish Examiner has learned that the diaspora created by the economic crisis will be unable to access 10 vital payments, including the jobseekers allowance, child benefit and disability allowances under welfare tourist rules.

http://www.examiner.ie/ireland/returnin ... z0ddWm0nR7


Ouch

Give the Citizens Information offices a bell.