Scottish Government should reconsider candidacy rights of non-UK citizens, MSPs say

MSPs have urged the Scottish Government to reconsider its position on allowing non-UK citizens with limited leave to remain to stand for election.

The parliament’s standards committee warned doing so could undermine public trust given the lack of support for the policy.

It also called on the government to investigate whether the current system for checking candidate eligibility is fit for purpose, warning the process is “significantly dependent on candidates acting in good faith”.

This, it adds, could open risks to foreign interference given the current climate of “growing geopolitical tension”.

Committee convener Jenni Minto MSP said: “It is vital that Scotland has elected representatives who look like the communities they represent. This diversity helps build trust in our elected institutions.

“But we know that this trust is fragile, and so careful consideration needs to be given to all electoral reform that come before us.

“The changes that allowed people with limited leave to remain to stand for election should be reconsidered. They appear to have run ahead of what the public want and the rationale for making the change is simply not clear.  The changes proposed by this bill risk entrenching a policy that instead needs looked at again.”

The committee has been examining the Scottish Local Government Elections (Candidacy Rights of Commonwealth Citizens) Bill, which seeks to correct an error made in a previous piece of legislation passed in 2025.

That legislation opened up candidacy rights to foreign nationals ahead of the 2026 Holyrood election, but a drafting error meant these rights were not extended to Commonwealth citizens.

The new bill follows significant concern around the election of Scottish Greens MSP Q Manivannan, an Indian national who entered Holyrood despite being in a student visa which was set to expire this year.

The Greens earlier this month confirmed Manivannan’s application for a graduate visa had been processed, allowing the MSP to continue living and working in the UK for a further three years.

This is still two years short of the full parliamentary term, though it is understood Manivannan intends to apply for a global talent visa which would last for up to five years.

The standards committee said that while the new bill before them was “logical” as it is designed to correct an error, the report concluded that “upon reflection, we do not accept the premise that there should be a general right for non-UK citizens with limited leave to remain to be councillors or MSPs”.

The Scottish Greens, who are not represented on the committee, said this would be a "backward step". 

A spokesperson said: "There are thousands of people with limited leave to remain who live and work in Scotland and have made a home here, including Commonwealth citizens. They should be able to stand for our parliament and councils.

"MSPs backed this change unanimously at the time, including the convenor and co-convenor of the committee. It would be a regrettable backwards step for representation and democracy if Scotland was to roll-back on this commitment."

Reform UK welcomed the report, with MSP Mark Simpson commenting: “People were rightfully gobsmacked to learn that limited leave to remain is enough to get your name on a ballot paper in Scotland.

“Reform UK was elected in May to bring common sense into Holyrood and in the first bill of this new parliament, we are already hard at work doing just that.

“The committee has unanimously concluded those with limited leave to remain should not stand in local council elections and we felt strongly that this must go further and extend to Scottish parliamentary elections.”