Benefits for newly graduated student

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I am a 21 year old student who is graduating in the end of May, and I am due to give birth at the end of July. I will be unable to work between now and then due to the nature of my degree, as well as my living situation as I live with my parents with no access to public transport and I can’t drive. When the baby arrives I will no longer be able to live at home due to space issues and will have to move out. I will be moving to Austria to live with my partner who will still be in university until the end of 2026. I will have no income and have very little savings. I have no idea where or how to apply for funding to help pay for rent for the first few months until I can start working. His income will not be sufficient to support the three of us and I can’t get any support from my family as my parents are retired and only one has a pension. Any recommendations on how I can make money or what type of grant to apply for would be super useful! Thanks

But various posters have in fact researched and posted information re the OP's immigration status and benefits entitlement in Austria, which is apparently more than she or the baby's father have managed to do. MN is often excellent at finding pretty obscure information.

Can’t your partner support you?

Thanks, is it clear if she in UK living with her parents ? Getting her maternity care in UK?

or in Ireland?

I think it’s important she delivery baby & register birth in place best place, and get passport. The passport can take time unless she expedites … she needs to think this tru

If I understand correctly, your partner is currently at an Austrian university. You want to move to Austria. Would you then finish your degree at the same Austrian university?

A good port of call would be the university advice centre. They would be able to advise your partner, as a student, of what is available to him. The university may have childcare options, and would at least be able to tell him where he can find out about benefits for him and you as new parents. This page gives contact details for ‘Sozialberatung’ for Austrian university students: https://www.oeh.ac.at/beratung/sozialberatung/

If you haven’t finished your degree yet, ask at your uni what you would be entitled to.

Where will the baby be born? It’d be good to check the legal situation there of e.g. getting the father on the birth certificate, and any extra protections marriage may give you in the country you’re going to live in. I hope you’re in a happy, safe relationship, but not so long ago I spent a year helping a friend with a messy custody and child support battle in an EU country. In her case (Germany), marriage gave her far more protection and rights.

Also look at citizenship rights for the baby in Ireland/Austria/Hungary.

Sorry but my instinct is to provide constructive advice.

I abhor the judgements people make on threads like this.

Not sure if this link is already posted

https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/social-security-and-benefits/transferring-unemployment-benefits/indexamp_en.htm

it's more complicated than you might have thought!

What about the regret you might feel in 6-7 months when you are homeless with a tiny baby?

I would try to stay with your parents. I'm sure a small baby won't take much extra space?

No way would I move to Austria without a plan. How good is your German?

Your Europe Advice:

• offers personal advice on your EU rights
• clarifies the EU law in your particular situation
• explains how you can exercise your EU rights
• directs you to a body that can offer further assistance if needed
• replies within one week

https://ec.europa.eu/eu-rights/enquiry-complaint-form/home?languageCode=en&origin=yec_Work%20and%20retirement

'Jobseekers' have at least six months:

The first 6 months
Reporting your presence
As a jobseeker, you don't need to register as a resident for the first 6 months.

But some EU countries require you to report your presence there to the relevant authorities within a reasonable period after arrival: often at the town hall or local police station.

If you are being paid unemployment benefits from your home country, you will have to register with the employment service in your host country. (See Thetrainer's link.)

https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/residence/residence-rights/jobseekers/index_en.htm#just-moved

Although obviously this doesn't solve the op's income problem.

you have to show you can support yourself and your child without any support. Otherwise, you have to leave.

The host country can ask her to leave (after six months+ if she is a jobseeker) - not that simple if she doesn't want to leave;

In exceptional cases, your host country can deport you on grounds of public policy, public security, or public health - but only if it can prove you pose a serious threat.
The deportation decision or request to leave must be given to you in writing. It must state all the reasons for your deportation and specify how you can appeal and by when.

You have 2 options

1. Live in Ireland, get benefits to live separate from your parents if they can't support you

1. Boyfriend gets a part time job in a pub/McDonald's after uni every day- loads of people have to do this, he's a dad he can suck it up

Austria is incredibly expensive, they don't give benefits to Austrian citizens if they've lived away more than about 4 years - so that means you're getting nowt

Lastly, tell boyfriend to apply to hardship fund at uni

And don't even think about moving there to give birth to get citizenship, uou don't get Austrian citizenship by being born there if you're parents are foreign

This100%

It is a difficult and painful situation but I don’t think you can both continue at uni. He will need to get a job to support you. There is no magic money pot for help in situations like this. Good luck! I’d say your best to stay in Ireland.

I’m afraid you need to be brutally honest with yourself here OP. You’ve got a long distance boyfriend studying in a foreign country who is in no position to support you. Did he want the baby? Is he likely to be properly involved? You only need to read threads on here to realise you’re in a very precarious situation. I do not think you should be leaving Ireland any time soon. The longer you can stay with your parents the safer you and baby will be. As much as you say it’s not an option, it may have to be in the immediate period after birth.

You're so young, op. Would your parents not want you to stay with them? Are you sure having baby is a good idea at your stage of life? What do your parents think?

This

You need to look into what benefits your dp in Austria can claim for his dp (you) and baby. Benefits aren't usually available from your home country if you are abroad for more than a set time, typically a month

Does your boyfriend in Austria have stable accommodation there where you and the baby can join him? Does he want this to happen? Can he interrupt his studies for the first year of his child's life to work and provide for the family until you're in a position to find work?

Have the two of you talked about the future and where you want to be, apart from immediate accommodation needs?

Not demanding answers, but these are things to think about.

Your naivety is astounding. You have chosen to bring a child into the world. Now you need to think practically and realistically about how you can best support that child. Moving to Austria is not it!

If you intend to register the birth with your boyfriend so that he is named on the birth certificate, he will have parental responsibility. You won't be able to move countries without his consent. So let's say you do move to Austria, you're unhappy there because you have no money, don't speak the language, can't get a job, and have no support network. You want to move back to Ireland with the baby and he says no. You'll be stuck in Austria.

Are you sure your parents wouldn't have you, or is this partly a matter of wanting to be with the partner? That's natural, but what is he doing to commit to a new family?

What about his family in Hungary?

If it weren't for the baby, would you be moving to live with him?

Are you working now? If so, work as close to your due date as possible. I managed 38 weeks each time for eg - and yes it was hard and tiring. But necessary.

Then you can claim maternity leave pay from your job, or if not qualified maternity allowance.

Sorry I see you have not worked this year through your course, so will not be entitled to any maternity pay.

Realistically your choices are long distance until partner finishes course, your partner looking into whether he can move to a uni in the same country as you to finish his course or he leaves uni and works.

I live in Spain, and even people with EU passports, in order to get residency here, have to show they have private health insurance and a minimum of €7000 in the bank just for their own support let alone a baby. I would have thought Austria was similar, as most countries want evidence that you can support yourself and won’t cost them money.