yankeewife
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Have you tried the citizen's advice service, maybe they can be of some help to you. Looks like you need to pass the 'habitual residence' criteria. Can you do that?
Would it be worth your while seeing what benefits you can get in Northern Ireland if your husband was working there? Could he sign on there and then transfer his claim down here?
We believe we have enough ties to Ireland to prove habitual residency. We have a year-long house lease, bills in our names, Irish bank accounts (without much money in them, to be sure), evidence of permanently leaving our US home (plane tickets, shipping documents, lease cancellation, etc.), evidence of family living in the same Irish county, Irish car registry and insurance paid for the whole year, and more. He can show a day-by-day log of his attempts to find work. He has registered with the job board.
The caseworker flatly refused to consider our evidence and even repeatedly told my husband, a passport-holding Irish citizen, that he was ineligible to remain in Ireland more than three months. The refusal letter she sent said that we had failed to provide evidence that we actually did provide, misspelled his name, and gave the wrong PPS number. When we called to let them know, she reissued the same letter with his name and PPS number corrected, but no other changes.
Safe-Home Ltd. and returning Irish emigrants
Arrangements were agreed with Safe-Home Ltd, a registered charity, to assist with the difficulty experienced by a minority of returning Irish emigrants in demonstrating their intention to live here permanently for the purposes of satisfying the HRC.
7.2 - Length and purpose of any absence from Ireland
Habitual residence may be lost where a person spends time away. This may apply in the case of an Irish national who gains stable employment abroad, or a non-Irish national who returns to his/her own country or settles in a third country following a period of residence here. Status as a former worker under EC law is lost when such a person leaves the country for a significant period.
Infrequent return visits or the purchase of a home abroad may point to transfer of the main centre of interest to the other country. On the other hand, established habitual residents of Ireland who have periods of temporary or occasional absence may still be habitually resident during such absences. If a person who is working abroad returns at regular intervals to Ireland e.g. to visit family or because a home has been retained here, it is possible that the main centre of interest remains in Ireland. ( See also Appendix 1 re: international workers who are deemed to be habitually resident in the country under whose social insurance scheme they have been retained, even though they are temporarily working elsewhere.) However, it should be borne in mind that the HRC can only be applied at the date of application for the particular payment to which the condition applies ( see Part 6).
Returning migrants or Resuming previous residence
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.
In determining the main centre of interest in such cases the DO should take account of:
Replies to the following questions may assist in determining whether an applicant has retained or resumed his or her main centre of interest in Ireland after a period spent abroad:
- purpose of return e.g. expiry of foreign residence permit
- the applicant's stated intentions
- verified arrangements which have been made in regard to returning on a long-term basis e.g. transfer of financial accounts and any other assets, termination of residence based entitlements in the other country, or assistance from Safe Home ( see below) or a similar programme to enable Irish emigrants to return permanently
- length and continuity of the previous residence in the State
- the record of employment or self employment in another State and
- whether s/he has maintained links with the previous residence and can be regarded as resuming his/her previous residence rather than starting a new period of residence.
The following examples are acceptable as proof of permanent return to Ireland: (Allow 28 days for documentation to be submitted)
- how long did the applicant live in Ireland before leaving?
- why did the applicant come to Ireland originally?
- when and why did the applicant leave Ireland?
- how long did the applicant remain or intend to remain abroad?
- did spouse/civil partner and children, if any, also leave Ireland?
- was accommodation retained in Ireland?
- if the applicant owned property in Ireland, was it let, and was the lease timed to coincide with the applicant's return to Ireland?
- what links did the applicant keep with Ireland?
- can the applicant verify cessation of employment, lease or rental agreement etc. abroad?
- when and why did the applicant return to Ireland?
- have there been other brief absences? If yes, obtain details.
- Documented evidence of transportation of personal possessions
- Proof of cessation of employment
- Proof of termination of lease on rented property or proof of sale of home
- Evidence of closure of financial accounts and transfer of funds
- Evidence of completion of studies abroad (where applicable)
- Copy of passport and expiration of visa at the time they returned
(In a case where a person says they were resident illegally in a country outside the EEA, the entry visa to that country, stamped on their passport, will clearly show the permitted duration of their stay in that country. For example, a person who went to the USA in 2007 and was granted an entry visa to remain there for 90 days but continued to live there until 2009, that person was resident in the USA illegally after the expiry of the 90 days. In a case like this, the fact that a person cannot return to that particular country, would mean that they may be likely to be habitually resident in Ireland).It should be noted that periods spent in prison in Ireland do not accrue towards residency for habitual residence purposes.
This list is not exhaustive.
Safe-Home Ltd. and returning Irish emigrants
Arrangements were agreed with Safe-Home Ltd, a registered charity, to assist with the difficulty experienced by a minority of returning Irish emigrants in demonstrating their intention to live here permanently for the purposes of satisfying the HRC.
To assist with this issue, Safe-Home has drawn up a check list of a range of documents that will help customers show that they have returned to Ireland permanently.
Safe-Home has also designed a declaration which will confirm where a customer is engaging with them as part of their repatriation. It is intended that the declaration will be associated with any social assistance claim a customer might make. This measure should help to expedite the decision-making process in these cases as it can be accepted as proof that the customer has returned to reside in the State on a permanent basis.
That alone needs to be highlighted to the appeals service. That is ignorance of the highest order.The caseworker flatly refused to consider our evidence and even repeatedly told my husband, a passport-holding Irish citizen, that he was ineligible to remain in Ireland more than three months.
Just to confirm - was your husband born and raised in the Republic? What age was he when he left (fulltime residence in the Republic) and how long ago was that?..it doesn't seem clear whether he can be considered a previous habitual resident since he has only resided just over the border in Northern Ireland and not in the Republic itself.
The situation is just extremely frustrating. Strictly speaking by EU rules this should not be happening, but Ireland and the UK are ignoring them.
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