This note examines the recent decision of the Irish High Court in Solovastru v Minister for Social and Family Affairs. The case concerned the rights of a Romanian migrant worker to benefits under the Irish social welfare scheme and, in particular, (i) whether a person who requires a work permit to take up employment can be considered to be ‘available for work’; and (ii) whether the applicant was habitually resident in Ireland. This, in turn, raised the issue as to whether, under EU law, a self-employed person retains a right to reside under Article 7 of Directive 2004/38/EC in the event on involuntary unemployment.