A Green MSP has failed to explain what happened to more than £1,100 of donations received for a visa application.
Q Manivannan, who was elected on the Edinburgh and Lothians East regional list, urged party colleagues to provide support for an online fundraiser for a graduate visa application in the final stages of the Holyrood election campaign.
As of the start of this month, £1,161 had been raised in donations out of a target of £2,089.
In the appeal, Manivannan said raising the money would then allow extra time to apply for a permanent global talent visa to ‘secure a path toward settlement’.
But the fundraising page has been removed in recent days amid widespread media coverage of Manivannan’s current immigration status and doubts about whether the MSP will be able to serve a full five-year term.
The new MSP and the Scottish Greens have refused to respond to multiple media requests for clarification of why the online fundraiser has been removed and what has happened to the donations received.
The Mail first revealed earlier this month that Manivannan had launched the plea for financial support for a visa application just days before voters went to the polls.
Scottish Green Party MSP Q Manivannan at the Scottish Parliament,
In the message, Manivannan said: ‘Scotland is home. To continue living here, I would deeply appreciate any help you can give in supporting me with £2,089 of visa expenses toward a Graduate Route Visa, which will allow me to have extra time to apply for a Global Talent Visa by the end of this year, and secure a path toward settlement.
‘So while my complete visa expenses will chalk up to £2089 (Graduate Visa) + £5047 (Global Talent Visa), I am asking for your help now to cover the first part so I can have the time to work up to save and afford the second part.
‘I already qualify for a Global Talent Visa, but its long endorsement and processing time, 11-16 weeks, cuts it a little too close for me to only rely on it.’
In the online plea, the Green activist described currently living ‘in a transitional phase’ following the end of a PhD in January’ and ‘I have been living off savings while contesting an election campaign'.
‘Scotland, in its most welcoming ways, allows all individuals with the Right to Work and reside in Scotland, even temporarily, to vote and run for politics. I am lucky to have that privilege, and with your help, would be very grateful for the chance to continue doing all that I do.’
A Holyrood source said Manivannan sent out a message to party members in an internal chat group ‘begging for cash’, which also included a link to the online fundraiser.
Among those who donated were Kate Nevens, who subsequently became an MSP, and the Greens candidate Mridul Wadhwa, the controversial former chief executive of the Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre who was heavily criticised in a damning probe into the organisation.
Earlier this week, it was confirmed that Manivannan. who identifies as a ‘transgender’ Tamil immigrant with the pronouns they/them, currently has a student visa which is due to expire later this year.
Normally, a student visa includes a series of restrictions such as only being able to work part-time during term-time for a maximum of 20 hours a week, and not being able to fill a permanent vacancy.
However, the Home Office has confirmed that elected posts in local or devolved government are not considered to be employment for the purposes of the immigration rules and that restrictions on employment do not affect their ability to carry out these roles.
But Manivannan’s new job as an MSP could make it less likely that an application for a permanent global talent visa will be successful due to the lack of relevant experience.
Guidance from the Home Office states: ‘Applicants cannot qualify under the Global Talent visa on the basis that they are an MSP. The Global Talent route is for talented and promising individuals in the fields of science, digital technology, and arts and culture.
‘Successful applicants are leaders, or have the potential to be leaders, in their field, as determined by an endorsing body.
‘Most Global Talent decisions require a full assessment of an applicant’s skills and experience, rather than relying on binary criteria, and it is impossible to indicate whether an individual may qualify for the visa before an application has been submitted.’