Right now my plan is to stay in London (until my lease is up sometime next year), and work whatever jobs I can, establish myself in animation and begin my career.
I’ve been looking at some studios in Ireland that I really admire, Studio Meala, Cartoon Saloon, and Boulder Media, in particular, and trying to work out what exactly I need to do to be able to work there legally. Anecdotally speaking, a lot of Irish (ROI) animation jobs advertise they’re only available to those based in Ireland, even for remote work.
I’m not entirely sure why this is – if I had to guess it would be to do with some kind of funding they receive from the Irish government, that work must be completed within Ireland and only Ireland. But I’m not certain and all that matters is that I can’t change that (unfortunately).
I can however relocate to Ireland, which I’m definitely curious about. My main concerns were working Visas and living in Ireland now that the UK is outside the EU as a result of Brexit.
Fortunately, it looks as though Ireland has been generous to us and not a lot has changed for residents of the UK. I’d still be allowed to work without an employment permit which is a great relief because that removes one of the bigger obstacles of employment in a EU country. Presumably this also extends to living in Ireland, which would be the other big issue!
There’s not much else to say here as initially I was concerned it would be a lot harder since Brexit but thankfully it seems relatively straightforward! It’s definitely given me reason to consider looking at more jobs in Irish animation studios.