South African born British citizen wanting to emigrate

[MissMandy]

Hello everyone!

I am currently living in South Africa with my husband of 2 years and my daughter (16 months). I am British by descent but have never lived in Europe, only holidayed there. I would like to move to Ireland with my family as we are uncertain about our daughters future.

I am looking for asmuch advice as possible. As far as i can understand, South African's do not need a visa to land in Ireland. My minimal knowledge has led me to believe that my husband and daughter would be eligible to apply for residence cards based on me finding a job within the 3 months "grace period" after arriving in Ireland.

I am worried as apparently there is a recession ireland at the moment although our plans are only intended for early 2013.

We do not have qualifications but my husband has a specialised job as a fire detection technician and he has knowledge as a horticulturist.


I would appreciate any help/advice or direction you can offer.

Thank you in advance!

[Irisheddy]

At the risk of appearing unpatriotuc, why do you think your daughter will have a better future in Ireland than South Africa?

Many skilled irish people are currently emigrating to other countries such as Africa, America and Australia for a better future.

If you are British you have the whole commonwealth to chose from.

Am I missing something. I remember one South African coming here 10 years ago because she said she was affected by "positive discrimination" in your country. surely that no longer applies.

[walrusgumble]

At the risk of appearing unpatriotuc, why do you think your daughter will have a better future in Ireland than South Africa?

Many skilled irish people are currently emigrating to other countries such as Africa, America and Australia for a better future.

If you are British you have the whole commonwealth to chose from.

Am I missing something. I remember one South African coming here 10 years ago because she said she was affected by "positive discrimination" in your country. surely that no longer applies.

There are NO special Commonwealth Immigration Bonus's . You have the same chance in getting into Australia as the South African

What about Britain itself?

[Brigid from Ireland]

'I am British by descent'

The first step is that you should apply for a British (or EU) passport, if you think that you are eligible for one. This will make it much easier for you to come to Ireland, and will remove any difficulties with regard to your getting a job in Ireland (British/EU passport holders are entitled to work in Ireland). If you get a British passport, apply for a British passport for your child also. The father of a British child is entitled to live in Ireland, to mind the child, if the child is in Ireland.

IF you get any job (even poorly paid) you become the responsibility of the Irish social welfare system, in terms of some payments (and not in terms of other payments). You should claim a top up from the Community Welfare Officer if you are on low wages. You can only claim off the Community Welfare Officer if you are working LESS than 30 hours per week, and earning less than a set amount. You should commence your claim immediately you get a job, no matter how few the hours. This applies if single or married, regardless of whether or not you have kids. This payment will be hard to get (it is an assistance payment, so habitual residence issues cause problems), and you will probably need to appeal - you may not be paid for some time, but you will win eventually.

If you come to Ireland, you (as the British passport holder) should concentrate on getting a job which is 20 hours a week. You should take even a minimum wage job (or two), so long as you can get the 20 hours a week. The reason is that with 20 hours a week, you acquire an entitlement to Family Income Supplement (as you have a child). This means that a minimum wage job for 20 hours (or more than 20 hours) will be 'topped up' by the state to a living wage. If you can get 20 hours a week work at minimum wage, this will be enough, with Family Income Support, to support the family, on a modest lifestyle. This is a benefit, so habitual residence is irrelevant.

You should also apply for Child Benefit, if you are an employee or self employed. This means that when you get to Ireland, if you have no job, you (the British citizen) should register immediately with the Revenue as self employed, and apply for Child Benefit as a self employed person. Lots of paperwork involved in this, but easy to do if you are good with paperwork.

Note also that if you get a job (even for a few weeks) this transfers your rights to social welfare, and you become the responsibility of the Irish state, in terms of access to benefits. Assistance payments may be subject to a habitual residence test, but benefits transfer if you work for even a short period in Ireland. (This may not be relevant to you, as your work history may not entitle you to benefits, but it is relevant for some people, particularly those who have worked in the EU two calendar years ago).

If you, your child or your spouse has a disability, significant additional payments are available, as well as free access to good healthcare.

PS If you or more importantly your child, has a British passport, it is much easier for your spouse to live in Ireland.

[st pauli]

Hello everyone!

I am currently living in South Africa with my husband of 2 years and my daughter (16 months). I am British by descent but have never lived in Europe, only holidayed there. I would like to move to Ireland with my family as we are uncertain about our daughters future.

I am looking for asmuch advice as possible. As far as i can understand, South African's do not need a visa to land in Ireland. My minimal knowledge has led me to believe that my husband and daughter would be eligible to apply for residence cards based on me finding a job within the 3 months "grace period" after arriving in Ireland.

I am worried as apparently there is a recession ireland at the moment although our plans are only intended for early 2013.

We do not have qualifications but my husband has a specialised job as a fire detection technician and he has knowledge as a horticulturist.


I would appreciate any help/advice or direction you can offer.

Thank you in advance!

Even if you don't find jobs within that period, you have longer as you can benefit from the terms of the relevant European directive as a jobseeker, provided you have a 'genuine chance of becoming engaged' and preferably don't claim or attempt to claim any benefits. It's not a case of expulsion looming on 89 days or anything, although the culture around this might change in the EU (we're starting to see it in Spain for example) at the moment it's pretty a much a case of if you don't take the piss out of the system, you're good to stay.

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

I am currently living in South Africa with my husband of 2 years and my daughter (16 months). I am British by descent but have never lived in Europe, only holidayed there. I would like to move to Ireland with my family as we are uncertain about our daughters future.

I am looking for asmuch advice as possible. As far as i can understand, South African's do not need a visa to land in Ireland. My minimal knowledge has led me to believe that my husband and daughter would be eligible to apply for residence cards based on me finding a job within the 3 months "grace period" after arriving in Ireland.

As somebody else has pointed out, you first need to apply for a British passport.

Then you need to ignore the grumpy complainers.

Your family does not need a visa to enter Ireland as they have South African passports. They will not need visas to transit Schengen Europe. They might or might not need visas to transit the UK.

When you arrive in Ireland, you (the EU citizen) are the key person. You either need to find work within the 90 days, or be considered self sufficient.

Then your family can apply for Residence Cards.

Done. Should be quite easy.

Warning: it is a bit dark and rainy if you arrive in December. But the people are great!

[Brigid from Ireland]

A little know tip is in respect of self employment and pregnancy.

If you register as self employed, pay the necessary PRSI and Tax (which is small if you earned only a small amount through self employment) then you qualify for maternity benefit for six months (subject of course to giving birth to a baby, and reading the relevant legislation to get the dates right).

You need to calculate your dates carefully if you are going to do this.

There is no habitual residence requirement for this, as maternity benefit is a benefit, not an assistance.