NISIG recently helped resolve an issue that Irish couples were facing on return from the Ukraine with their babies.
Couples were experiencing difficulty in getting an Irish PPS number for their children. If couples can’t get PPS numbers they can’t apply for child benefit.This is causing a huge amount of distress and upset.
In order for the child to get an Irish PPS number their
father must attend their local PPS application centre with the baby and
numerous forms of identification, proof of address, birth certificates etc. The
list of documents required and the procedure is set out on the Department of
Welfare website.
In the last few weeks couples have been asked to give their
child’s original Emergency Travel
Certificate (ETC). In the last few days couples have been
refused a PPS number for their child and were told that their child’s ETC was
out of date . The ETC is a ” one trip only ” type passport that the
Irish Consulate in the Ukraine issue to facilitate the baby travelling home. It
is dated around that flight home. Therefore, by its very nature it will be out
of date once baby arrives back in Ireland. It was suggested to some couples
that the only way to sort it out would be to apply to the Irish Consulate from
Ireland now for another ETC. That wasn’t a feasible suggestion, when the child
is here in Ireland.
The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection stated to ensure that such children are assigned a PPSN, so that entitlements such as Child Benefit, Under 6’s GP visit card or a Medical card can be accessed without delay, it can be confirmed that where the parent(s) submits the child’s Emergency Travel Certificate (ETC) as supporting documentation for their child’s PPSN application, then a PPSN can be allocated by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection.
