# redundant in Northern Ireland wanting to move to the Republic of Ireland



## beetee (3 Dec 2014)

I have a relation who is being made redundant.She has lived and worked her whole life in the north of Ireland.
Her dream is,(if it is possible),to use her lump sum to purchase a house and live and seek work,in the Republic of Ireland.
Will she have any problems buying a house(cash purchase)?
Will she be able to claim any form of benefit/welfare payment while she looks for work?
She plans on moving lock,stock and barrel(with her baby).
Will this qualify the habitual residency criteria ?

Any advice / info would be greatly appreciated .

All the Best
Brian


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## beetee (4 Dec 2014)

Anyone,any thoughts/advice-good /bad. 
Any ideas would be welcome.
Thanks
Brian


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## fearbeag (4 Dec 2014)

I am not sure if I can help that much.

If she is buying a house outright I don't see a problem. Though if she would need a mortgage I suspect it might be difficult to get that until she is working.
I would suggest contacting a mortgage broker down here maybe and they should fill you in.

SW I know little about, but think it might be tricky as I suspect she would be means tested, but I might be wrong on that.

Best advice I can give is to look for a job first, before the move and check out the rest in parallel.


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## beetee (4 Dec 2014)

Thanks Fearbeag,
she doesn't intend on getting a mortgage,wants to buy straight away ,so that none of her money will be 'wasted' on rent.
Waiting on a job before she moves means she will still be renting,thus taking money out of her 'house buying money'.
Anybody else have any ideas?
Thanks in advance

Brian


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## Ann1 (4 Dec 2014)

Border People.info has lots of information on moving north or south of the border to live and work. (Check Frontier workers...bottom of the page)
Your relative may be able to claim Jobseekers Benefit in the south on her National Insurance contributions paid in the north. She will need to apply for a PPS number first. Actually I think she will need a PPS number to purchase a house down south but I'm not completely sure about that. 
http://borderpeople.info/


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## beetee (4 Dec 2014)

Thanks Ann,
will pass that link on,seems to be lots there.

Cheers
Brian


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## beetee (4 Dec 2014)

Just been reading some of that info on border people,
Does Northern Ireland form part of  the 'Common Travel Area' ? and does this make it more likely to pass the habitual residence question.

Cheers
Brian


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## Ann1 (5 Dec 2014)

As far as I know the common travel area is between all of Ireland and the UK..Channel Islands and Isle of Man. I'm not sure what you mean when you say 'pass the habitual residence question'.


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## Gerry Canning (5 Dec 2014)

Call or call into any Roi social welfare office. Generally they are very helpful.

I cannot see issues on buying a house with cash.
I assume she was born somewhere in Ireland so (habitual residence) does not apply as she is de-facto a citizen of Ireland.
If made redundant , I would think she is entitled to what we call Job Seekers Benefit for I think 7 months.
If she is trying for Job Seekers Allowance (known as dole) that is means tested and her cash will reduce that, but if her cash is used to buy a home that changes that.

As I say a call to any Social Welfare office will give her proper advice.


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## beetee (5 Dec 2014)

Ann, I have maybe been reading 'too much' as I thought everyone moving to the Republic of Ireland now has to satisfy to be accepted as an 'habitual resident'.

Thanks Gerry,yes she was born in Ireland(North),going to a Social Welfare Office sounds
good advice.

Thank again
Brian


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## gipimann (5 Dec 2014)

Being born in Ireland does not automatically confer habitual residence.


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## beetee (6 Dec 2014)

Definitely confused now Gipimann

Cheers
Brian


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## Monbretia (6 Dec 2014)

A call to a Citizens Information Office too could be a good start, then maybe Social Welfare.


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## gipimann (6 Dec 2014)

Here are the guidelines for DSP deciding officers on HRC.

http://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Habi...ion--Guidelines-for-Deciding-Offic.aspx#sect7


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## gipimann (6 Dec 2014)

beetee said:


> Definitely confused now Gipimann
> 
> Cheers
> Brian



If a person was born in Ireland and emigrated, they are not automatically HRC compliant if they return to Ireland - they will have to be assessed as explained in the guidelines linked in the previous post.


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## beetee (8 Dec 2014)

Thanks Monbretia,phoned Citizens Information,they were not a big help(said they had never came across a case like this).

All the best
Brian


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## beetee (8 Dec 2014)

Thanks Gipimann for explaining.
My cousin was born in Ireland(albeit the north),she has never emigrated.

By reading more into it,I was probably confusing or treating 'right to reside' and 'habitual residence' as the same thing,when they are two different scenarios.   ?? 
Cheers
Brian


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## Monbretia (8 Dec 2014)

Did you ring a local Cit Info office or the helpline?  If you rang a local office you might just have been unlucky and got someone a bit inexperienced, it is far from an unusual query, try the helpline or another office.

Having said that I don't think there is a straightforward answer, it will not be automatic for a person who has worked and paid taxes etc to another government, even if within the same island, to qualify for a means tested social welfare payment in this country.


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