JA and artist

briarrose

Hi all,
hopefully I am not repeating a question that has been asked a thousand times.
Quick explanation of my situation. I am italian and married to a Westmeath man, have worked in Italy until 2 years ago, he recently lost his job there, so we decided to return permanently here; he found a job pretty much straight away, albeit temporary, while I am still looking.

Now: I am an artist, or rather, I have attended art college in Italy. The grand plan was to get myself a full time job so me and the husband could afford to go live on our own, then turn it into a part time job and start as an artist, then drop the regular job altoghether when/if I earned enough. Things went very wrong and that never happened.

So now I have the chance for a fresh start and would like to start professionally as an artist here. However I am very practical, and I would be quite content to have a part time job and be a part time artist, at least at first. Presently, I am seeking any employment, as food has to be bought and I hate being dependant.

So now the question is: if I register myself as an artist, and I fail to earn, would I still be entitled to claim JA - if still meeting all other requirements eg actively seeking f/t employment - or would I lose my entitlement to JA as I would be considered self employed?

It goes without saying that, if I earned whatever the Social Welfare office considers enough, I would not claim; it's just that if I decide to go for it and register as an artist I want to do it with all the proper info, it would not do to go ahead and then find out afterwards.
Any help is much appreciated

mp22

Call into your local office and have a chat with them on the best way to proceed.

Lux23

You may have to qualify under the habitual residence conditions, as far as I know you have to be resident here at least two years?