Claim benefits while abroad

bopsy

Hi there

I have just moved abroad due to my wifes new job. I dan't have any work yet and probably won't until after Christmas at best. I worked for 10 Years + in ROI before I left in September of this year. I can't claim employment benefits here in Belgium for 6 months, somebody mentioned to me that I can claim benefit from Ireland while I am here in Brussels all I need to do is go back and register, does anyone know if this is true?
B

bmmck

I dont know if you are entitled to anything but you should'nt be as you have left the country be different if you were still living here but your not.

meditraitor

The benefits as far as Im aware are to help you get over periods of unemployment whether through sickness or simply not being able to get a job but they are also on the condition that you reside in the state and if you are not sick then you need to be available for work while claiming.....

Unless its a pension which I think might be different.

So

No (i could be wrong)

Suzdub

Hi there,

I looked into this as I am planning on going abroad to work next year.

If you are on Jobseekers benefit before leaving you can claim it for 3 months in the EU Country you go to.

See info below. Go to www.welfare.ie and type in benefits abroad, lots of helpful stuff there.

Sorry its so long but you might find something helpful or contact nos that you can find out further info.

Suz
______________________________________________________________

.1 Social Insurance and EC Regulations
The EC Regulations apply to people who travel and work within the European Economic Area (EEA). The Regulations allow workers to combine periods of social insurance in any of the EEA countries to help them qualify for a benefit or pension.

Countries covered by EC Regulations
Austria
Czech Republic
Finland
Greece
Ireland
Liechtenstein
Malta
Portugal
Romania
Spain
the Netherlands
the United Kingdom (See Section 3.2 Bilateral Agreement for Channel Islands and the Isle of Man).
Belgium
Denmark
France
Hungary
Italy
Lithuania
Norway
Republic of Cyprus (Cyprus South)
Slovakia
Sweden
Bulgaria
Estonia
Germany
Iceland
Latvia
Luxembourg
Poland
Slovenia
Switzerland*


*Certain limits apply to Jobseeker's Benefit in relation to Switzerland.

EC Regulations make sure that if you go to work in any of the above countries:

you receive the same treatment in social security matters as nationals of those countries,
you can use periods of social insurance to help you qualify for social security benefits here,

and
you and your family can receive the benefits to which you are entitled.
The EC Regulations in general only cover:

workers and people getting social security benefits who are nationals* of any of these countries and people with the status of stateless people or refugees living permanently in any of these countries,

and
the dependants and survivors of these people (regardless of their nationality).
* Third country nationals must have been employedd in two or more member States ( with the exception of Denmark). In situations where a third country national only has links with a third country and a single member State, EC Regulations will not apply.

Benefits covered
The Regulations cover:

Illness and Maternity Benefits (including health care),
Benefits for an accident at work or occupational disease,
Invalidity Pension,
State Pension (Contributory) and State Pension (Transition),
Widow's or Widower's and Guardian's Payment (Contributory),
Jobseeker's Benefit,
Child Benefit,
Bereavement Grant, and
Treatment Benefit.
In general, Child Benefit is paid in the EU country where you are employed regardless of where your family lives.

Note:
Apply for a European Health Insurance Card if you are intending to travel on a temporary stay to another EU member state, EEA member state or Switzerland. The Card, which replaced the old form E111, means that you can get necessary health care in the public system of any of the countries if you become ill or injured while on temporary stay there.

If you already have either a medical card or a Drugs Payment Scheme card you can apply for the European Health Insurance Card on-line at www.ehic.ie. If not, you can apply directly at your local Health Service Executive office. More information is available on www.ehic.ie or from your local Health Service Executive office.

Working in another country covered by EC Regulations
In general, if you take up work in another country covered by EC Regulations, you will no longer be covered by the Irish PRSI system. The social security laws of that country will apply to you instead.

If you are covered by social insurance and later apply for a sickness or an unemployment payment in the other country, you may be asked for details of your Irish PRSI record. This allows the social security authority in the other country to consider any periods of insurance you had in Ireland when deciding your entitlement.

For sickness benefit, your Irish PRSI record is on form E104. For
unemployment payments (similar to Jobseeker’s Benefit), it is on form E301.

You will need to provide the following information and documents to the authorities in the country where you are making your claim:

full name,
PPS No.,
Irish address,
forwarding address,
your P45 form(s) for work in the current tax year, and
your P60 for the last tax year.
The authority needing the forms can request them by writing to the
following address:

International Records Section
Social Welfare Services
Floor 2
Oisín House
Pearse Street
Dublin 2
Telephone: (01) 704 3000

Returning from another country covered by EC Regulations
When you are returning from one of these countries, you should apply to the appropriate agency in that country for your E301 and E104 forms. These will show a record of your contributions while abroad and will help speed up the payment of benefits under EC Regulations.

Transfer of jobseeker's payments abroad

If you have been getting Jobseeker's Benefit in Ireland for at least 4 weeks and wish to go to a country covered by EC Regulations to look for work, you can receive this payment abroad for up to 78 days. To obtain this you must inform the office where you 'sign-on' at least 4 weeks before you leave so that the necessary arrangements may be made in time.

In the other country you must 'sign-on' within 7 days of the date you last signed on in your local Social Welfare Office. For more information on transferring your Jobseeker's Benefit, contact International Records Section at the address above.

Posted Workers
Workers sent by their employer to work overseas on a temporary basis are referred to as posted workers. The general rules applying to such workers are as follows:

Workers Posted to a country covered by EU Regulations or Bilateral Social Security Agreement

If you are sent by your employer in Ireland to work temporarily (normally up to 12 months) in a country covered by EU Regulations or Bilateral Social Security Agreement, you may remain subject to Irish PRSI while you are temporarily working overseas. In such cases, you must obtain an E101, or equivalent retention certificate. These certificates can be obtained from:

Special Collection Section
Social Welfare Services Office
Cork Road
Waterford
Telephone: Waterford (051) 356 000
Dublin (01) 704


Workers posted to a country not covered by EU Regulations or a Bilateral Social Security Agreement

If you are sent by your employer to work temporarily in a country not covered by EU Regulations, or in one that does not have a Bilateral Social Security Agreement with Ireland (see above for details), you remain subject to Irish PRSI for a period not normally exceeding 12 months. A certificate of retention must be obtained prior to taking up employment overseas.

Workers from abroad posted temporarily in Ireland

A worker who usually lives in a country not covered by EU Regulations, or one that does not have a Bilateral Social Security Agreement with Ireland, who is sent to work temporarily in Ireland by an employer not ordinarily registered in Ireland, may be deemed exempt from Irish PRSI for up to 12 months. PRSI exemption certificates must be obtained in all such cases. Futher details and relevant forms on posted workers can be obtained from:

Special Collection Section
Social Welfare Services Office
Cork Road
Waterford

Telephone: Waterford (051) 356 000
Dublin (01) 704

Email: Special Collection Section


3.2 Bilateral Social Security Agreements with other countries
Ireland has special social security agreements with the following:

— Canada (see information leaflet SW 84)
— Australia (see information leaflet SW 87)
— the United States of America (see information leaflet SW 91)
— New Zealand (see information leaflet SW 95)
— Québec (see information leaflet SW 96)
— the United Kingdom, including the Channel Islands and the Isle of
Man which are included since October 2007.

These agreements protect the pension entitlements of Irish people
who go to work in these countries and they protect workers from those countries who work in Ireland.

They allow workers to combine periods of Irish social insurance and,
where provided for, periods of residence or contributions in the second country when applying for a pension.

They also include arrangements for posted workers on short work
assignments by deciding which country’s social security legislation will apply.

Payments covered

The Agreements cover the following Irish payments:

State Pension (Contributory),

State Pension (Transition),

Invalidity Pension,

Widow's or Widower's Contributory Pension,

Guardian's Payment (Contributory), and

Bereavement Grant.

A person may qualify for a payment from both Ireland and one or all of these countries at the same time.

For details of the payments from countries covered by Bilateral Social Security Agreements, see individual information leaflets listed above.

Extra benefits
If you receive an Irish or social security pension from any of these countries and you live in Ireland, you may qualify for the following extra benefits under the Irish social security system, if you meet certain conditions.

The extra benefits are:

Fuel Allowance
Free Travel
Household Benefits Package (electricity, natural gas, bottled gas refill allowance, free television licence and telephone allowance).
These extra benefits are outlined in Section 10.

You can get more information about these agreements from:

International Records Section
Social Welfare Services Office
Floor 2
Oisín House
Pearse Street
Dublin 2

Telephone: Dublin (01) 704 3000

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tomred1

You needed to be on payment before you left the country then you could of transfered your apyment to Belguim. It too late now to do anything i would say.

bopsy

Bmmck

Tell me why I shouldn't be entitlled to claim social benefits that I contributed to for the last 10 years. We are now part of a European Union. If I can't claim in Brussels then I should be able to claim from the country I last resided in and contributed to.

Brendan

Suzdub

Hi there,

Dont know what happened to my last post.

Anyway I think there is a possibility that you may be entitled to something.

If you go to www.welfare.ie and type in claim benefits abroad there is lots of information for people working or not working in Ireland before they left.

I copied some on my last post but it seems to have disappeared.

Hopefully you will find something or maybe a contact no that you can ring for more info.

Suzanne

Bluefoam

bopsy wrote: »

Bmmck

Tell me why I shouldn't be entitlled to claim social benefits that I contributed to for the last 10 years. We are now part of a European Union. If I can't claim in Brussels then I should be able to claim from the country I last resided in and contributed to.

Brendan

Why don't you ask in your social welfare office? They will give you a straight answer in seconds, instead of posing the question here.

TBH it looks like you are fishing for tips to keep the benefit while you are abroad...

BTW, your contribution didn't go into a jar labled 'Brendan's emergency fund' it went towards the running of the country...

The_Conductor

bopsy wrote: »

Bmmck

Tell me why I shouldn't be entitlled to claim social benefits that I contributed to for the last 10 years. We are now part of a European Union. If I can't claim in Brussels then I should be able to claim from the country I last resided in and contributed to.

Brendan

Brendan-

You are entitled to claim Belgian unemployment benefits, when in Belgium, identical to the rights of any Belgian in similar circumstances. Your Irish PRSI contributions are counted as EU stamps- and qualify towards claiming the Belgian benefits. Your entitlement is to Belgian unemployment (and ancillary) benefits, while in Belgium- not Irish benefits.

I do not know what Belgian unemployment benefits, or restrictions on them, may be. You will have to enquire about that elsewhere.

Bluefoam

Hey bopsy, why don't you try to get a job in Belgium?

bustertherat

hi brendan i think its disgraceful that you are attempting to claim benefits while not even living in the country, its people like you who are the reason that our country is in such dire straits,you've been in belgium for three months now might i ask did u even bother to look for a job

TheBeach

Were you claiming unemployment benefit before you left, for a minimum of 4 weeks?

If you were and you had informed the social welfare office that you were leaving you would have been entitled to transfer your unemployment benefit to any eu country for a maximum of 78 days (excluding sundays) - 13 weeks. This is providing you had 78 days benefit left to transfer. Alternatively, they could have transferred out the benefit for the number of days remaining on your claim (to a maximum of 78)

You could try giving them a ring now and explaning that you weren't aware of it and they might be able to help.

Alternatively, other EU countries have to recognise your Irish stamps to qualify for Belgian benefits (but you may have to work there for a while first before you can merge your records).

It also works for people coming from other EU countries to Ireland (for anyone who thinks it's unfair).

Ald

I lived in Scotland for 3 months of 2009. I was on jobseekers b4 and after those 3 months. I worked part time in Scotland for a while. Does anyone know if I'd be entitled to claim back payments for the time I was unemployed or working part time???

Thanks in advance!

bopsy

Just for all of those you who are disgusted by my actions. I have been here since September, I never claimed a penny in Ireland before I left my job. I have paid my taxes and social security. Tell me why I shouldn't be entitled to claim this now that I have had no luck finding work here in Brussels. Surely I would have been asking this question 3 months ago if I was the mercinary you suggest I am.

petes

bopsy wrote: »

Just for all of those you who are disgusted by my actions. I have been here since September, I never claimed a penny in Ireland before I left my job. I have paid my taxes and social security. Tell me why I shouldn't be entitled to claim this now that I have had no luck finding work here in Brussels. Surely I would have been asking this question 3 months ago if I was the mercinary you suggest I am.

So you were not claiming in Ireland before you left? From my understanind of reading this thread you had to be. Did you apply in Brussels? Just re read your opening post. Why can't you apply for 6 months there?

cee_jay

bopsy wrote: »

Just for all of those you who are disgusted by my actions. I have been here since September, I never claimed a penny in Ireland before I left my job. I have paid my taxes and social security. Tell me why I shouldn't be entitled to claim this now that I have had no luck finding work here in Brussels. Surely I would have been asking this question 3 months ago if I was the mercinary you suggest I am.

Basically if you were not in payment for Jobseeker's benefit before you left Ireland for 4 weeks, you cannot transfer your claim to Belgium.
You can however move your irish contributions to belgium to help you qualify for their equivalent over there. You need to go to your local social welfare office over there to do this.

The_Conductor

Insurgent wrote: »

So you were not claiming in Ireland before you left? From my understanind of reading this thread you had to be. Did you apply in Brussels?

You do not need to be claiming in Ireland in order to access Unemployment benefits in Belgium. Your PRSI contributions in Ireland are considered as equivalent for the purpose of calculating stamps paid (the same is the case in any EU country). You qualify for identical unemployment and related benefits, as would any Belgian (in Belgium obviously). Had the OP been claiming Irish unemployment benefits prior to moving to Belgium- he/she would have been entitled to transfer their benefits to their new country of residence (Belgium) for a specified period of time.

S.

petes

smccarrick wrote: »

You do not need to be claiming in Ireland in order to access Unemployment benefits in Belgium. Your PRSI contributions in Ireland are considered as equivalent for the purpose of calculating stamps paid (the same is the case in any EU country). You qualify for identical unemployment and related benefits, as would any Belgian (in Belgium obviously). Had the OP been claiming Irish unemployment benefits prior to moving to Belgium- he/she would have been entitled to transfer their benefits to their new country of residence (Belgium) for a specified period of time.

S.

Cheers. I understand that. What I meant was were they not claiming and then transfer to Belgium. They obviously weren't.