Am I being unreasonable to say this us absolutely ridiculous abd should be stopped (immediately)

[ByQuaintAzureWasp]

A person in Scotland, who is not a British citizen and does not have the right to remain, has been elected as an MP in Scotland. The UK has gone bloody mad!!!!

YANBU. It's bloody ridiculous.

Yanbu at all. Fuck this shit. 😞

Not familiar with the situation.

what are the rules about standing?

presumably NI has members of parliament who are Irish citizens?

You haven't got the position right. It's MSP. So I'm guessing it's not your deeply held commitment to local democracy in Scotland that has prompted you to post?

@Summerhillsquare It might be a surprise to you but anyone elected in a democratic system nearly everywhere is supposed to be a citizen of the country. That’s fairly basic but the SNP changed the rules 2 years ago so that wasn’t a requirement and now a Green is elected with no right to work! Salary is £77,000. You couldn’t make it up!! It’s farcical and certainly wrong.

A link might have been useful, so we could know what you're talking about.

It might be a surprise to you but anyone elected in a democratic system nearly everywhere is supposed to be a citizen of the country.

The UK has long allowed eligible candidates with either (1) Irish citizenship OR (2) a Commonwealth citizenship AND Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) or Right of Abode (ROA) in the UK (essentially, a permanent resident) to stand and serve as MPs and at lower levels of elected public office.

That’s fairly basic but the SNP changed the rules 2 years ago so that wasn’t a requirement ...

Post Scotland Act, Scotland amended the laws for Holyrood and local elections to include EU citizens with ROA. Post Brexit, Scotland wished to preserve EU citizens rights but ran into legal complications with grandfathering them. The Scottish Elections (Franchise and Representation) Act 2020 introduced a residency-based model allowing candidacy for all foreigners normally resident in Scotland with ILR/ROA, and the Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Act 2025 extended candidacy to all foreigners legally resident in Scotland with Right to Remain - temporary as well as permanent.

Both of the laws cited above were legislated by the Scottish Parliament, not simply introduced by the SNP as a party nor the Scottish Government, and both went through the normal Parliamentary procedures including Royal Assent. Both pieces of legislation had broad cross-party support - in fact the 2025 Act passed unanimously with no abstentions.

... and now a Green is elected with no right to work! Salary is £77,000.

The 20 hours student visa cap is irrelevant as the UK Home Office does not count standing for or filling an elected post in a devolved legislature as "employment" for immigration purposes. So if someone on a student visa (I believe Manivannan's is actually as less restrictive graduate visa) became an MSP they could discharge all of their duties as an MSP AND ALSO work 20 hours in another job if they chose.

You couldn’t make it up!!

No, but I could look it up.

i like you a lot.

I looked it up too. Seems fair enough to me. Leave to remain is also covered in a student visa.

15.“Leave to remain” is a term of art founded in the Immigration Act 1971 (the “1971 Act”). Section 3(1)(a) of that Act provides that a person who is not a British citizen shall not enter the UK unless given leave to do so. Section 3(1)(b) provides that such leave may be granted either for a limited or for an indefinite period of time. British citizenship is determined by reference to the British Nationality Act 1981. Section 3(2) provides that the Secretary of State for the Home Department (often referred to as the Home Secretary) shall make rules as to the practice followed in administration of the 1971 Act. These are the immigration rules.(9) They include rules as to periods of leave to remain and how conditions to leave to remain are attached in different circumstances.

Source for that:

Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Act 2025 - Explanatory Notes (legislation.gov.uk)

The graduate visa is applied for. They just got a PhD so qualify.

Also from STV:

Scottish Greens transgender MSP 'in process' of securing new visa | STV News

“At the same time, I am also applying for a Global Talent Visa, recognising my contributions to the country, which will allow me to stay in the UK for the entirety of my parliamentary term and beyond."

All seems fair enough to me. If not qualified to work there will be a By-election I should think.

Who better to be a voice for the people in Scotland on Visas etc than someone in the system. It is usually a thing that citizens of a nation do not know much about immigration law. Now Holyrood have an MSP who knows about it.

Would anything similar happen in the country you are from @RedTagAlan ?

You’ve mentioned it’s authoritarian so probably wouldn’t seem “fair enough” there.

This is within the new rules but in practice, the worry is that the elected person has no guarantee they will even be able to stay in the country for the whole term they have been elected for. Yes there could be a by election but that’s not ideal for continuity.

Doing the Lord's work, @SageHoney 😁

I am Scottish. So yes, that is the rule in the country I come from.

I do not know how the law came about, but it seems fair to me. My suspicion is that it is a continuation of the rules that were set for the Indy ref. That is that it was open to all residents. No DNA test required to prove one is indigenous Scottish.

Loads of us Scots tend to be fair like that. I mean anything else is just not cricket is it.

You’re Scottish? But you have apparently chosen to live in an authoritarian country that doesn’t allow much internet access, according to other posts you have made.

That must be difficult for someone who values fairness, so many contradictions.

The SNP have ruined Scotland. I’m so glad I’ve left

This is a total non issue and I can’t get worked up about it. Why do you care?

Aye well there ye go. Travel broadens the mind, some say.

AIUI the person concerned as added as a top up 'list' member under Scotland's PR system for the Scottish Parlaimnet..

Not ideal they can contribute then so what.

If they can't, or their visa expires then they will need to be replaced.

who decides if they can contribute -what a nonsense requirement

I was more thinking of how failure to contribute will be dealt with....