Insight into Eligibility for Social Welfare After Being Away for 2 or More Years?

Sharpie1

Hi,

I am currently in Australia 18 months and I plan on going home in December which will bring me up to the 25th Month.
I was on the full job seekers allowance before I left Ireland. I have heard that if I don’t return home within 2 years I will not be eligible for social welfare payments when I go back home. If this is the case, I will go home a month early to secure payments. Not because I want to go back on social welfare but because I will need it to live when I am looking for employment as I will have no other income.
I am looking for knowledge about eligibility for social welfare and insight from people who have returned back to Ireland after been away for a year or two or more! Thank you in advance

mickyboy

As far as I remember the rule is you have to be resident within the state for 3 out of the previous 5 years. That catches plenty of people out as they might have lived abroad more than once. They looked at my passport stamps, bank statements, etc. to see if I was. I had a problem where NZ immigration never stamped me out of the country so had to go and find flight documentation. Hope that helps.

Remember to count stopovers like Thailand and the likes in as part of your non residency.

BTW I returned two years ago so rules may have changed. Check Social welfare/citizens advice website for current habitual residency requirements

Sharpie1

Hi Mickboy,

Thank you for your speedy response. Fortunately I have lived in Ireland all my life and my trip to Australia (due to the downturn) was my first big stint away from home. You made a very good point though about being resident within the state for 3 out of the previous 5 years.
If you can remember Mickboy, will the Social Welfare office ask for my tax file number when I go back into the office to do the paper work? I wonder do they investigate earnings over here?
I really feel the rule should change as I do not think it is fair to be black listed from receiving social welfare after spending 2 years abroad. 2 years is nothing and there are many unforeseen circumstances and family matters that could bring a young person back home to live very quick.

mickyboy

Hi Sharpie,

Agree two years is nothing but I can see their point. Where do you draw the line regarding time spent outside the country.

They'll look for all earnings, savings, tax certs and so on. It's exactly the same process as if you had been working in Ireland. I would make sure you bring all documentation home with you. I can only imagine it would be difficult getting those documents from Ireland. I would also say it depends on the welfare person you're dealing with. I thought a print out from my NZ current account e-statement would be good enough but he wanted a official letter saying I had closed my account and closing balance statement. Thankfully my NZ bank were understanding and I had the statement within 10 days.

My only advice would be to bring home every scrap of documentation with you because it will save you a lot of hassle in the long run, even for other applications i.e loans, grants etc.

Cushie Butterfield

I wouldn't focus too much on the exact two year aspect if I were you. It seems that any returning Irish person who has been refused welfare payments are those that in DSP's opinion can't prove strong ties with Ireland - family etc. They would maybe still own property & still have a bank account in the country they are returning from.

If you close your Australian bank account, get a statement showing this, keep your p45 equivalent & show that & maybe get a letter from your landlord saying you have left or are leaving on such & such a date you should be fine. It's all at the discretion of the deciding officer. Once you have nothing to hide you'll be fine.

According to Citizen's Info

Returning Irish emigrants

EU rules prevent discrimination on nationality grounds in relation to social security, so it is not possible to exempt a particular category of Irish citizens (such as returning Irish emigrants) from the habitual residence condition (either in general or for Carer’s Allowance) without extending the same treatment to all EU nationals. However, the guidelines on determination of habitual residence address the issue of returning emigrants very specifically. The guidelines state: “A person who had previously been habitually resident in the State and who moved to live and work in another country and then resumes his/her long-term residence in the State may be regarded as being habitually resident immediately on his/her return to the State.”

When determining the main centre of interest for returning emigrants, Deciding Officers take account of:

The purpose of your return, for example, because your foreign residence permit has expired
Your stated intentions
Verified arrangements which you have made in regard to returning on a long-term basis, for example, transfer of financial accounts and any other assets, termination of residence-based entitlements in the other country, or assistance from Safe-Home or a similar programme to enable Irish emigrants to return permanently
Length and continuity of your previous residence in the State
Your record of employment or self employment in another state and
Whether you have maintained links with your previous residence and can be regarded as resuming your previous residence rather than starting a new period of residence.

Just come home whenever you want - there's no need to come home a month early.

mickyboy

Hi Cushie Butterfield

I just had a brief glimpse of the new rules and it looks like the rules have been relaxed and more power has been give to the deciding officer. Thankfully this will help alot of returning emigrants who maybe in difficult circumstances.

I would be careful as if you get the wrong deciding officer there still is

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

(1) For the purpose of each provision of this Act specified in subsection (3), 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 the person 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.

(2) In subsection (1) "other part of the Common Travel Area" means the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

(3) The provisions of this Act referred to in subsection (1) are sections 141(9), 154(c), 163(3), 168(5), 173(6), 180, 192, 210(9) and 220(3).

(4) Notwithstanding the presumption in subsection (1), a deciding officer or the Executive (i.e. the HSE), when determining whether a person is habitually resident in the State, shall take into consideration all the circumstances of the case including, in particular, the following:

the length and continuity of residence in the State or in any other particular country;
the length and purpose of any absence from the State;
the nature and pattern of the person's employment;
the person's main centre of interest, and
the future intentions of the person concerned as they appear from all the circumstances.

As I find with reading most legislation, it can be vague and ambiguous to a lot of people.

mickyboy

Hi Sharpie

As Cushie Butterfield said there's nothing difficult about the meeting with the deciding officer unless you have something to hide. The only strange things I remember him asking was how many times I rang home from abroad(person's main centre of interest) and he did give me a bit of a grilling about my outgoings. He thought my bank statement was in Euros and presumed I was living the life of Reilly. When I explained that it was NZ dollars and the exchange rate was around 2 to 1, he calmed down a bit