# Returning from abroad to unemployment status - can I claim the dole



## moriars

I have worked for 40 months abroad - for a foreign company. I am now retruning to Ireland effectively unemployed. Before I left Ireland I have been paiying full PRSI for the last 20 years. Am I still entiled to claiming the dole until I find work?


----------



## Black Sheep

The only to be absolutely sure is to fill up the application form (download from welfare.ie) fill it up, and take it with ID and proof of address to your nearest SW office


----------



## wbbs

Have you already returned?  If not can you apply before you come back in the country you are in and then transfer your entitlement back to Ireland.   Not sure but otherwise you might run into trouble with the habitual residency condition.


----------



## beffers

You should qualify for Job Seekers allowance as long as you pass the means test and the habitual residency condition. You will be fine on the habitual residency condition if you can prove that you have severed ties to your previous country of residence, and reestablished them here. Get a letter from your old landlord/estate agent (if possible) confirming that you have canceled your lease there or sold a home there. Get proof that you lost your job & get letters/emails from utility companies proving you canceled accounts with them. Get paperwork that proves that you no longer own a taxed and insured car in that country. Get proof that you have closed bank accounts in that country etc etc. Then get together proof that shows that you have committed to living in Ireland permanantly again...a copy of a lease in your name, electricity, phone telly etc etc bills in your name etc etc. 

It may seem excessive, but your case worker needs to see that you really have committed to living in Ireland again, and are not going to be flitting back and forth between the two countries. He/she won't just take your word for it. The person who will ultimately make a decision on your case won't even meet you face to face. They'll be going on the paperwork that you submit, so don't skimp on it if at all possible.


----------



## moriars

Thanks for all the adivce folks - all very useful - fully understand why they would want to ensure you are committed to staying in Ireland and trying to find work - why should I expect to receive benefit if I intend to leave again in 6 months. However, the catch22 is that if I can't get suitable employment I may well have to pack the bags and head out this part of the world again! Thanks again.


----------



## beffers

Yeah, you may have to leave again. Such is life for a lot of people these days. If you do, that could very well impact your making another claim for Jobseekers Allowance if you ever return, as it could be argued that your returning home this time around was not for good. But no one has a crystal ball to tell what may or may not happen in the future. As it stands now, you are making a legit effort to resume your former life in Ireland and find work here. So for now, do what you need to do, and claim what you are entitled to claim to take care of you and yours for the time being. Best of luck to you.


----------



## daithimacgro

I'm in a similar situation and would appreciate to know if anyone has been turned down for habitual residency recently.

It's a bit of a risk coming back to ireland with the employment prospects there and then the chance that SW could decide I'm not "habitually resident" 

I could easily blow all my savings trying to prove I'm habitually resident and intend staying longterm only to still be denied welfare


----------



## beffers

You won't blow anything trying to prove you are habitually resident, you'll spend money moving back to Ireland, and actually _becoming_ habitually resident. If you genuinely do do that, you'll have a proof that you did so & you'll be ok. You'll have a paper trail showing that, from a one way plane tickets to Ireland, to renting a place to live in your name, to ESB bills in your name etc etc. If you can show that, you'll be fine. 

If you are going to move back in with family and won't have any of that stuff, you may be ok, as long as you can show verification from the country that you used to live in long term, that you no longer live there...a canceled lease, a house sold, utility company accounts closed, a sold car, closed bank accounts etc etc. If you can show none of the above, if all you do is come back for a few months and stay with family to see how things go jobs wise, if you do not establish any of the roots that most people do when they move to another country, then yeah, the odds of your claim being denied are pretty high.


----------



## Ildánach

There are 2 main unemployment payments, Jobseekers Benefit and Jobseekers Allowance.

Jobseekers Benefit is based on your PRSI stamps.  As well as needing a total number of contributions (at least 2 year's worth) you also need contributions in the relevant year, which is 2 years prior to the claim.  Claims made in 2011 rely primarily on 2009 contributions and those made from January next year will rely on 2010 contributions.

As you've been out of the country for so long you won't have sufficient stamps to claim Jobseekers Benefit based on your Irish contributions.

If you have been working in another EU country, then you can combine your social insurance record from the country where you were working, but to do this you must have worked at least one week since last returning to Ireland.  If you haven't worked in Ireland since your return, you won't be able to rely on your EU contributions, although there is an exception if you have returned to Ireland for family reasons.

There are also bilateral agreements with a small number of other countries outside of the EU, which allow you to rely on contributions made there to count here.

All the above relates to Jobseekers Benefit.

If you do not qualify for Jobseekers Benefit, you may qualify for Jobseekers Allowance.  This depends on habitual residence.  The Jobseekers Benefit/PRSI based payment does not require habitual residence.

See the following links for more detail:

JObseekers Benefit - http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Schemes/JobseekerSupports/JobseekersBenefit/Pages/jb.aspx
Jobseekers Allowance - http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Schemes/JobseekerSupports/JobseekersAllowance/Pages/ja.aspx
Habitual Residence - http://www.welfare.ie/EN/OperationalGuidelines/Pages/habres.aspx
Useful examples of how habitual residence is supposed to be determined - http://www.welfare.ie/EN/OperationalGuidelines/Pages/habres_supplement.aspx


----------



## helens

Hi there
Just bumping this up to ask a few questions
my husband is on jobseekers benifit for 5 months now & has just been offered a job in scotland for 1 maybe 2 years depending on the contract.
my question is,if at the end of the 1-2 years & he cant get any more work there can he come home here and 'sign on' while he looks for work..we wont be selling or renting out house here as the accomodation is free with the job in scotland,myself & kids will join him in summer
i know it seems strange wondering about it but i just want to make sure he can get something when he comes back here,when you have kids you need to think of them too.
Thanks


----------



## eastbono

helens said:


> Hi there
> Just bumping this up to ask a few questions
> my husband is on jobseekers benifit for 5 months now & has just been offered a job in scotland for 1 maybe 2 years depending on the contract.
> my question is,if at the end of the 1-2 years & he cant get any more work there can he come home here and 'sign on' while he looks for work..we wont be selling or renting out house here as the accomodation is free with the job in scotland,myself & kids will join him in summer
> i know it seems strange wondering about it but i just want to make sure he can get something when he comes back here,when you have kids you need to think of them too.
> Thanks



If he has a good solid work record here then there should not be a problem. Obviously he will have to fulfill habitual residency when he returns. Will need the usual P45 from uk... and the fact the you own your own property here will be good as well.


----------



## dereko1969

would it be worth his while signing on in scotland after the work finishes and then transferring his claim to ireland?


----------



## helens

thanks for the replies.
he is going to head over on his own for a while & see how he gets on.
They money is ok but when you factor into account the fact that il lose out on my child benefit here we would be at a slight loss than what we have now on social welfare
But he wants to work & is sick of being at home.
its such a tough call
Thanks


----------



## dereko1969

helens said:


> thanks for the replies.
> he is going to head over on his own for a while & see how he gets on.
> They money is ok but when you factor into account the fact that il lose out on my child benefit here we would be at a slight loss than what we have now on social welfare
> But he wants to work & is sick of being at home.
> its such a tough call
> Thanks


 
Are you sure about losing out on child benefit? Hadn't heard that before.


----------



## helens

yeah we wouldnt meet the Habitual (sp)conditions of it,id have to ring & tell them myself & kids are moving.


----------



## flossie

But i think you should be able to claim child benefit over there instead?


----------



## helens

i will look into it thanks.
just hoping financially itl all work out for us.But no hope here for work for eighter of us so needs must.
just got granted 12 months interest only on mortgage here so itl take a bit of preasure of.
thanks for replies & sorry for Derailing the origional Question


----------



## Sparky1972

Hi All,
Re. Job seekers benefit:
I have been working in another EU country since 2006 and built up social insurance contributions there. Previous to that I had worked in Ireland and built up 12years social insurance contribution. I am planning to return to Ireland this year as my Wife is located in Ireland, so I am returning purely for Family reasons.
In one of the posts above - its states the normal rule to transfer social insurance from other EU country is that you have to work at least 1 week in Ireland on returning, i.e have 1 social insurance payment made in Ireland on return, however there is an exception made if you return for Family reasons.
Obviously I am returning for family reasons and I will be without a job and looking for work. Do I meet the exception criteria of not having to have at least 1 social insurance contribution in Ireland after I return before I can claim Job Seekers Benefit.
Any advice is appreciated.


----------



## gipimann

I can't see any reference in the current Jobseeker's Benefit Operational Guidelines about an exemption from the requirement for an Irish PRSI contribution for family reasons so I'm not sure what the earlier poster was referring to.

You should make enquiries from the Dept of Social Protection before you move home, in case there is no exemption.   If there is no exemption, you would be better to claim jobseeker's benefit (or the equivalent) in the EU country and transfer it to Ireland.

Link to operational guidelines:
http://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Jobseekers-Benefit.aspx

EU/International Records who may be able to help with the PRSI query, or direct you appropriately
http://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/PRSI_holder.aspx


----------

