Migrant workers and unemployment
Information
If you have come to work in Ireland and you lose your job, it can be very difficult situation. If you are not an Irish citizen you need to find out your rights and entitlements in relation to redundancy, looking for work, social welfare and getting a tax refund.
If you are an EU/EEA national, you can stay in Ireland if you are unemployed and looking for work. If you are a non-EEA national who has an employment permit there are special arrangements for employment permit holders who are made redundant – see ‘Employment permits’ below.
Employment permits
If you are a non-EEA national with an employment permit, there are special conditions that apply to employment permit holders who have been made redundant within the last 6 months. You should notify the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation when you are told that you are being made redundant.
If you have been made redundant after working on a work permit for 5 consecutive years you will no longer need a permit to work in Ireland.
If you have held an employment permit for less than 5 years, you have up to 6 months to find a new job. When you find alternative employment you have to apply for a new employment permit. A labour market needs test is not required for applications from employment permit holders who have been made redundant. If you were made redundant from a job which is on the list of ineligible categories you may apply for a new work permit for a job on that ineligible list.
You should contact your local immigration officer to confirm your immigration status. If you have more than 6 months before your immigration permission expires, you can reside in Ireland under your stamp 1 permission for a further 6 months. If you have less than 6 months' immigration permission you can have your immigration permission extended to 6 months which means you will have to pay €150 for a new GNIB card. If you have not found a new job after 6 months you will be expected to leave Ireland.
Redundancy
If you are dismissed by your employer you should check if it is a redundancy situation, for example, the closure of a business. If it is not a genuine redundancy or if you think you have been unfairly selected for redundancy, you may qualify to bring a claim for unfair dismissal. Your employer must prove that there was a genuine redundancy situation and that fair procedures were followed.
If it is a genuine redundancy situation, you may be entitled to a redundancy payment if you have been working for your employer for 2 or more years. You may have other entitlements such as notice and holiday pay.
Social welfare payments
Jobseeker's Benefit: You may be entitled to Jobseeker’s Benefit (JB) when you lose your job or are made redundant. To get JB you must be unemployed and looking for work and you must have paid a certain number of social insurance (PRSI) contributions. You get Jobseeker’s Benefit for between 9 and 12 months, depending on the number of PRSI contributions you have paid. EEA migrant workers may combine their social insurance contributions paid in another EU country to help them qualify for JB. Non-EEA migrant workers who qualify for JB can get it as long as they are legally resident in Ireland but up to a maximum of either 9 or 12 months. Find out more information about qualifying forJobseeker’s Benefit.
Jobseeker's Allowance: If you are not entitled to Jobseeker’s Benefit, you can apply for Jobseeker’s Allowance (JA). Jobseeker’s Allowance is a means-tested payment. To get JA you must be unemployed, looking for work and pass a means test. You must also be habitually resident to get JA. Find out more about qualifying for Jobseeker’s Allowance.
EEA migrant workers who do not qualify for Jobseeker's Benefit, will meet the habitual residence requirement for Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) if they are actively looking for work. If they have been working in Ireland for less than 12 months, they are entitled to get SWA for 6 months from the date their employment ended. If they have been employed for more than 12 months they are entitled get SWA as long as they are actively looking for work.
Rent Supplement: If you are getting JB, JA or SWA and paying rent to a private landlord, you may be entitled to Rent Supplement. However, to get Rent Supplement you must pass a means test and be habitually resident in Ireland.
Non-EEA students are not entitled to social welfare payments in Ireland.
Tax
You may be entitled to a tax refund, if you have paid tax and you are now unemployed. If you have not paid any tax, you will not be due a refund.
If you are getting Jobseeker’s Benefit and make a claim for a tax refund, the taxable proportion of your Jobseeker’s Benefit and your wages are added together to determine if you are entitled to a refund. The first €13 per week of Jobseeker’s Benefit and the Increase for a Child Dependant proportion of your Jobseeker’s Benefit are not taxable.
If you are getting another income which is taxable, for example, Jobseeker’s Benefit, you should wait for 8 weeks from the date you became unemployed before applying for a refund.
If you are not getting Jobseeker’s Benefit and have no other taxable income, you should wait 4 weeks from the date you become unemployed before applying for a refund.
If emergency tax was being deducted by your former employer you should apply immediately.
Revenue will send you a cheque for the amount due to you. More information is available in our document about getting a tax refund.
Returning home
If you have no work and you are not entitled to a social welfare payment you may find it very difficult to continue living in Ireland, particularly if you do not have permission to remain. There are a number of organisations in Ireland providing supports for foreign nationals in particular:
- The Immigrant Council of Ireland (ICI) – see ‘Where to apply’ below – is an independent, national organisation which supports migrants coming to Ireland for purposes such as work, study, family reunification, self-employment or to visit. ICI provides an information service and a limited legal service to immigrants.
- The Migrant Rights Centre (MRC) – see ‘Where to apply’ below – is a national organisation which provides support to migrant workers and their families. The MRC operates a drop-in centre which provides information, advice and assistance.
The following schemes may help you if you decide to leave Ireland to return to your country of origin:
Scheme of repatriation
The Reception and Integration Agency works with the Department of Social Protection to support the repatriation of nationals of the new EU member states. The scheme applies to people who have failed the habitual residency condition attaching to social assistance payments. Any citizen of a former EU accession state, and certain other ‘special-case’ EU nationals, who find themselves destitute during their time in Ireland can apply for this scheme. If you wish to apply for this scheme you should contact the Community Welfare Officer at your local health centre.
Scheme of voluntary assisted return
If you are an asylum seeker or an irregular migrant from an non-EEA country who wishes to return voluntarily to your country of origin but do not have the means to do so, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) may be able to assist you to return home – see ‘Where to apply' below. If you return voluntarily and you have no outstanding criminal court proceedings, you may apply to re-enter Ireland legally for the purpose of work, study, etc.
Where to apply
Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation
Employment Permits Section
Davitt House
65a Adelaide Road
Dublin 2
Ireland
Opening Hours:Mon, Wed, Fri 9:30am -12.30pm
Tel:+353 1 417 5333
Locall:1890 201 616
Fax:+353 1 631 3268
Homepage: http://www.djei.ie/labour/workpermits/index.htm
Email: employmentpermits@djei.ie
Immigrant Council of Ireland
2 St Andrew Street
Dublin 2
Ireland
Tel:+353 (0)1 674 0200
Fax:+353 (0)1 645 8031
Homepage: http://www.immigrantcouncil.ie/
Email: info@immigrantcouncil.ie
Migrants Rights Centre Ireland
55 Parnell Square West
Dublin 1
Ireland
Tel:+353 1 889 7570
Fax:+353 1 889 7579
Homepage: http://www.mrci.ie
Email: info@mrci.ie
International Organisation for Migration
7 Hill Street
Dublin 1
Ireland
Tel:+353 (0)1 878 7900
Fax:+353 (0)1 878 7901
Homepage: http://www.iomdublin.org
Email: info@iomdublin.org
Language
Related Documents
- Jobseeker's Benefit
This is a weekly payment to people who have lost their job and are covered by social insurance. Find out if you can get this and other benefits. - Residence requirements for social assistance in Ireland
Since May 2004, you must be habitually resident in Ireland to qualify for social assistance payments. What is the habitual residence rule and how do you satisfy it? - Coming from the EU/EEA to work
Details the rights of EU/EEA nationals to come to Ireland to work, and covers rights while working. In addition deals with the entitlements of Irish citizens returning to Ireland particularly if unemployed.
Contact Us
If you have a question relating to this topic you can contact the Citizens Information Phone Service on 0761 07 4000 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 9pm) or you can visit your local Citizens Information Centre.