Habitual Residence Condition

The term "habitually resident" is not defined in Irish law.

It generally means that you:

• have proven close ties with Ireland
• have been living in Ireland for some time
• intend to stay in Ireland for the foreseeable future

You must be habitually resident in Ireland to qualify for the following payments:

• Blind Pension
• Carer's Allowance
• Child Benefit
• Disability Allowance
• Domiciliary Care Allowance
• Guardian's Payment (Non-contributory)
• Jobseeker's Allowance
• One-Parent Family Payment
• State Pension (Non-contributory)
• Supplementary Welfare Allowance (other than exceptional needs or urgent needs Payments under section 201 or 202)
• Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Non-contributory) Pension

This condition applies to any person applying for these social welfare payments, regardless of their nationality.

If you apply for a social welfare payment which includes an increase for a qualified adult or qualified child, only you, the applicant, must be regarded as being habitual resident in the State.

To be entitled to a payment, you must meet all other qualifying conditions.

To satisfy the Habitual Residence Condition (HRC) you must:

• have the right to live in the State with permission to access social welfare services

and

• show that you are habitually resident using the five factors outlined in legislation.

The five factors are:

• how long you have lived and intend to continue living in Ireland or in any other country
• the length and reason for any absence from Ireland
• the nature and pattern of your employment
• your main place of interest
• your future intentions to live in Ireland as it appears from the evidence

You will only be regarded as being habitually resident if you satisfy both parts of the condition.

Who has the right to reside for the purposes of the HRC

People who have a right to reside in Ireland include:

• Irish nationals
• UK nationals under the Common Travel Area (CTA) agreement
• European Economic Area (EEA) nationals who are employed or self-employed in Ireland
• non-EEA nationals who have been granted refugee or similar status
• non-EEA nationals who have permission to reside

To find out more about registering your immigration permission, visit the Irish Immigration service website.

For more information on the right to reside please see the HRC Operational Guidelines.

There are some circumstances where there is no need to carry out a HRC assessment on payments where you ordinarily need to satisfy the HRC to qualify.

These circumstances arise where a payment is considered a Family Benefit or Social Advantage payment:

• to qualify for a family benefit payment, you must be a worker
• to qualify for a payment under social advantage, you must have retained your worker status

You can read more about Family Benefits and Social Advantage payments here.

If you must satisfy the Habitual Residence Condition for a payment, you may be asked to fill out the HRC1 form.

Appeals

If you are not satisfied with the decision made on your case, you have the right of review and the right of appeal.

• You can submit additional evidence to the department and ask for the decision to be reviewed.
• You can bring an appeal against the decision to the independent Social Welfare Appeals Office.

Further guidance on how to appeal a decision about your social welfare claim is available here.

The department has published comprehensive Operational Guidelines on the Habitual Residence Condition:

• Operational Guidelines: For Deciding Officers on the determination of Habitual Residence
• Operational Guidelines: Social welfare entitlements of people in International Protection Accommodation provided by IPAS