You may get Illness Benefit if you have lived or worked in Ireland and you have lived or worked, or are going to live or work, in another country covered by EC Regulations or under a Bilateral Agreement.
The countries covered by EC Regulations or under a Bilateral Agreement are:
- Austria
- Denmark
- France
- Hungary
- Italy
- Lithuania
- Norway
- Republic of Cyprus (Cyprus South)
- Slovenia
- Switzerland
- the United kingdom
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- Belgium
- Estonia
- Germany
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Latvia
- Luxembourg
- Poland
- Romania
- Spain
- the Netherlands
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- Bulgaria
- Czech Republic
- Finland
- Greece
- Liechtenstein
- Malta
- Portugal
- Slovakia
- Sweden
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How you receive your Illness Benefit depends on where you have last paid a social insurance contribution. The following paragraphs explain what happens if you last worked in Ireland or in another country covered by EC Regulations.
Living in Ireland and last employed in another country covered by EC Regulations
If your last employment was in a country covered by EC Regulations (other than Ireland) and you live in Ireland, send your application for Illness Benefit to this Department. We will arrange to send it to the relevant country and will then tell you if you must take further action regarding your application. Under EC Regulations, the country in which you were last insurably employed is generally responsible for paying Illness Benefit.
Living in Ireland and last employed in Ireland, but previously employed in another country covered by EC Regulations
If you were previously insurably employed in a country covered by EC Regulations and you have paid at least one full rate PRSI contribution since you came or returned to Ireland, you may combine your insurance record in that country with your Irish PRSI contributions to help you qualify for benefit.
If you have obtained Form E104 from the countries in which you were previously employed, send a copy with your application to this Department. This form is a record of the social security contributions you have paid while employed in countries covered by EC Regulations and will speed up the processing of your application. If you do not have Form E104 from the relevant countries, we will obtain the form for you.