Moving to Ireland

Q

quarterfloun

Registered User
Messages
117
Hi, My friend, his wife and three young children are looking to move to Ireland. Currently unemployed, he is hoping that he would have a better chance here.

Does anybody have any experiences of arriving in Ireland with a family, v little money and how did the "welfare" experience affect you?

What they need is a real picture of how the system works until he gets working not a welfare.ie version!

Thanks in Advance.
 
Your friend should be aware of the Habitual Residency Condition, which requires persons claiming certain Social Welfare payments (including Jobseeker's Allowance) to be habitually resident before they qualify for payment.

Generally, this means that persons should be living here for 2 years, though there are some exceptions.

There's a bit more information here
 
Surely a better question would be "what is the job situation like?" "where is the best place to look for a job" etc. Surely people are not coming to this country with view to getting money from the welfare system. The last thing anyone wants is people coming who are "unemployed" without any really interest in work but just coming here to assess our welfare system.
 
quarterfloun said:
What they need is a real picture of how the system works until he gets working not a welfare.ie version!
Click to expand...
Nothing wrong with somebody (prospective immigrant or otherwise) doing some research to see what entitlements, if any, they have in terms of SW etc. Nobody's talking about welfare fraud or abuse here so what's the big deal?
 
I just felt it was a strange mentality. I suppose my idea of an immigrant is someone who wants to work hard in tough times and try and build a successful life for the next generation. Like the waves of immigrants to America where people knew the value of hard work would be appreciated and fortunes could be made. Just like the Indians and Pakistanis who have gone to England during the 60s and 70s to be so successful as a group today. I dont think it was the promise of a successful welfare system that drew them. Maybe I am being a touch idealistic but I think it strange that someone emigrating should be so curious about the countries welfare system.
 
The guy asked a fairly straight question. If you want to discuss other matters then open a new thread or post in Letting Off Steam (when you are able to).
 
Your friend will more than likely satisfy the Residency Coindition if he is living in what is called the "Common Travel Area" (The UK and NI mainly)

He should make an application for Jobseeker's Allowance at the nearest local office to his new address when he moves her. This will be mean-tested and may take a number of months to come through (depending on individual office backlogs....many have these since Jan due to the downturn in economy and more people "sigining on" as a result). While waiting for payment, he can claim Supplementary Welfare Allowance through his local Health Centre (the Community Welfare Office). If he is paying rent, he can apply for Rent Supplement there too. Any SWA paid to him will be deducted from his JA arrears when it comes through.
 
Welfarite said:
Your friend will more than likely satisfy the Residency Coindition as he is living in what is called the "Common Travel Area".
Click to expand...

The original post hasn't stated where the family hoping to come to Ireland currently reside, or did I miss something?

If the family live outside the UK (the common travel area), then the residency condition does come into play.
 
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gipimann said:
The original post hasn't stated where the family hoping to come to Ireland currently reside, or did I miss something?

If the family live outside the UK (the common travel area), then the residency condition does come into play.
Click to expand...
You're right, Gipimann! I'll amend my post!
 
My friend is in England, is English as are his wife and children. I emigrated to the UK in 85 and am fortunate enough to be able to come back. My friend helped me through rough times and I'm trying to assist him in his time of need.

As I said he will be looking for work - with my help & contacts. However, we have both looked at the welfare site and whilst it is clearly a mine of information it is not simple to understand and get definatives.

I remember going to the UK in 85 and I signed on for the first two weeks till I found a job so I have no issues with my country returning the favour.

The big problem he has that I did not is he has a family to consider, a home to leave etc. etc.

We are trying to plan this so that we find them a place to live in advance, get the welfare in place and then move them all over. Then there will be no issues with cold, wet and hungry children with no shoes etc.

So again, if anybody has done something similar we would like to hear your experiences to help us offer a family the chance of a better life.

PS - thanks Clubman - never thought you would be on my side
 
You won't be able to "get the welfare in place" in advance, unfortunately. SW will not take a claim from him until his is actually living here. If you have any specific questions, post them and we'll try and answer them. My post above gives the general idea of what will happen.
 
Friends of mine moved from Germany to Ireland and they had a mountain of paperwork to fill out to claim any SW, they are both Irish. Maybe a call in to your local SW office will save you a lot of time.
 
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