Guardian’s payment is paid if the person is taking care of a child who is defined as ‘an orphan’ under Social Welfare legislation. A child is regarded as an orphan if they meet the following requirements:
* they are under 18 (or 22 if in full-time education) and
* both parents are dead or
* one parent is either dead or unknown or has abandoned and failed to provide for the child and
* the other parent is unknown or has abandoned and failed to provide for the child and
* the child is not residing with a parent, adoptive parent or step-parent
Where the parent(s) have arranged to send the child to Ireland from Ukraine and entered into a private arrangement regarding the care of their child, such care arrangements cannot be considered to constitute parental abandonment and the child cannot be deemed to satisfy the DSP definition of an orphan. Therefore, they would not be eligible for Guardian’s Payment.
Please note! If your personal or family circumstances change you must notify your Local Intreo Office to avoid sanctions.
