Moving to Ireland

The Department of Social Protection Basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance page states rates from January 2026: EUR 252.00 weekly personal rate for an applicant aged 25 and over, EUR 163.70 for an applicant aged 18–24, EUR 168.60 or EUR 163.70 for a qualified adult depending on age, and Child Support Payment of EUR 58.00 under age 12 or EUR 78.00 from age 12. The payment is means-tested and brings qualifying income up to the applicable household rate.

The Department of Social Protection states that EU/EEA and Swiss migrant workers who have been working in Ireland can access basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance and supplements without the Habitual Residence Condition being assessed, provided they have the right to reside in Ireland. , subject to the source-defined low-income, household and other Supplementary Welfare Allowance conditions; it does not generalise to every EU/EEA or Swiss citizen or every foreign resident.

The Department of Social Protection's official Child Benefit table gives EUR 140 per month for one child, EUR 210 per child for twins and EUR 280 per child for other multiple births; the rate is paid monthly.

The Irish Department of Social Protection states that Child Benefit requires the Habitual Residence Condition, which applies to all applicants regardless of nationality; the child must normally live with and be fully supported by the claimant and meet the published age or education conditions.

The current official IPAS Support Services page, published and last updated in 2026, states EUR 38.80 per week for each adult and EUR 29.80 per week for each child. The Department of Social Protection Daily Expenses Allowance page states an increased EUR 113.80 per week adult rate where a person is unaccommodated and waiting for IPAS accommodation; the standard adult rate is EUR 38.80 and income assessment may reduce it.

The Department of Social Protection states that the allowance is payable to all applicants for International Protection who live in or are on a waiting list to move into accommodation provided by the International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) while their application is awaiting a decision. it does not broaden the status to a person already granted refugee or subsidiary-protection status, or to a general migrant resident.

The current gov.ie HAP page states that the household rent contribution is based on household income and calculated in the same way as rent paid by a local-authority tenant; the local authority makes a monthly payment to the landlord within household-size and local-rent-limit rules. This is a household/locality formula; no single national HAP amount is published.

The current gov.ie HAP page identifies Housing Assistance Payment as social housing support provided by the local authority and requires approval for social housing support before HAP can be paid. The official Department of Housing Circular 41/2012 gives the source-defined non-Irish profiles that may be considered for social-housing support. The circular states: ‘All EEA nationals may be considered for assessment for social housing support from housing authorities if they are in employment/self-employed in the State; or where they are not currently working/employed it is because they are temporarily unable to work because of illness/accident; or they are recorded as involuntarily unemployed after having been employed for longer than a year, and they are registered as a job-seeker with Department of Social Protection and FÁS.’ It states: ‘An application from a non-EEA national married to/in civil partnership with an Irish citizen may be considered as part of a joint application for that household, provided he/she holds a valid Stamp 4.’ It states: ‘If the applicant is a former asylum seeker, who has been given leave to remain and a Stamp 4, the application may be accepted for assessment’ where there is a current Stamp 4 and a letter from the Department of Justice. It states: ‘A non-EEA national who has been granted Refugee, Programme Refugee, or Subsidiary Protection status is eligible to be considered for social housing support, from the date of granting of such status, on the same basis as an Irish citizen.’ It states: ‘A spouse/civil partner of a refugee or person with subsidiary protection status are eligible on the same basis as their spouse/civil partner.’ It states: ‘Family members of refugees, who have been given leave to remain in Ireland on foot of a formal application to Department of Justice for family reunification, are also eligible’ for consideration. The §7.4.2 headings state ‘5 year reckonable residence with current valid Stamp’; the source wording requires ‘an aggregate of at least 5 years’ and applicants ‘currently hold a valid Stamp 1, 3, 4 or 5’. The alternative source wording is ‘Have any length of reckonable residence with current valid Stamp extending to potentially permit 5 years residence’; it refers to ‘any length of prior residence’ and an applicant who ‘currently holds a valid Stamp 1, 3 or 4’ whose expiry date would permit the total. For the family-spouse profile, the circular’s source wording is: ‘non-EEA spouse or civil partner of non-EEA nationals’; ‘once one spouse/civil partner meets the criteria’, the other may be considered as part of a joint application; the applicant must be legally resident and hold a valid Stamp 1, Stamp 3 or Stamp 4 endorsement. Finally, a parent of an Irish citizen child may be considered where the child is emotionally and financially dependent, the parent has been granted a Stamp 4, and this may be accepted without need for compliance with the reckonable residence criteria. exact bounded profiles listed in the circular. It does not include asylum seekers awaiting a decision, temporary-protection permission holders, undocumented persons or every foreign resident.

The official Jobseeker's Allowance page gives current personal weekly rates of EUR 163.70 for ages 18–24 and EUR 254 for age 25 and over; qualified-adult and child-support additions are separately means-tested.

The Irish Department of Social Protection states that the Habitual Residence Condition, which applies to all applicants regardless of nationality, must be satisfied; Jobseeker's Allowance requires the claimant to be habitually resident in Ireland, in addition to the age, means, work-capacity, availability and genuine job-search conditions.