Alex Piletska tells The Times why an MSP can work in the Scottish Parliament on a Student visa

14 May 2026

Senior Associate Alex Piletska is cited in The Times newspaper explaining why there are no Immigration Rules which preclude newly elected Green MSP Q Mannivanan from serving in the Scottish Parliament as there is an exception in the UK Immigration Rules which mean public office does not count as employment for immigration purposes. This means the newly elected MSP could be a Member of the Scottish Parliament while coming to the end of their Student visa. Student visas have rules on the hours of work that students can do during term time.

Q Manivannan, who was elected as an Edinburgh and Lothians East regional MSP, is in the country on a Student visa and intends to apply for a Graduate visa when the Student visa is set to expire later this year.

Other political parties have questioned whether they should serve in the Scottish Parliament in controversial articles in various media, so The Times asked Alex Piletska what her opinion was.

From an electoral perspective, the Green Party MSP can serve in Holyrood as MSPs of all parties unanimously voted a change in law which extended candidacy rights to foreign nationals with limited leave to remain.

Alex Piletska explained why this would also be within the Immigration Rules to The Times: “Public office is explicitly excluded from the definition of ‘employment’ in the immigration rules, so there is no bar to any visa holder taking up the role of MSP.”

Asked whether Q Manivannan would later be able to apply for a Global Talent visa when their Graduate visa runs out, Alex added: “Global Talent [visa] applications are extremely fact-sensitive so anyone commenting on Q’s chances of being successful in this route without seeing their detailed CV and having a clear idea of what kind of evidence they can submit in support of it would just be speculating.”

You can read the full article (paywalled) in The Times below.

Alex Piletska has a wealth of experience in immigration and is able to advise on a wide range of cases, including family and human rights applications, as well as skilled migration.  She has a particular interest in complex nationality cases, Adult Dependent Relative applications, Judicial Review and technical procedural issues like validity and variations.

Photograph of exterior of Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood c Chris Flexen / Unsplash