Migration Reform in the UK to Attract Highly Qualified Workers

Introduction. The article presents an analysis of migration reform in the UK during the first years after its exit from the European Union (20202021). Changing immigration rules and procedures became a difficult task for the UK, as it required British lawmakers pay simultaneous attention both to the needs of the country's internal labor market and to the close economic and social ties between the country and other EU member states. After Brexit, the new immigration policy was built on the principle “people before passports”, which was supposed to abolish unconditional privileges for EU citizens, implement a selective approach to labor migrants and create convenient and transparent conditions of entry to the territory of the UK for citizens of any state interested in education, highly qualified labor activity or business development. The author examines how this principle has been put into practice and assesses the effectiveness of the new immigration rules for the UK in 2022-2024. The article analyzes the country's domestic legislation and statistical data. Materials and Methods. The methodological basis of the study was formed by the following general scientific and special methods of cognition of legal phenomena and processes in the field of international and European law: the method of system-structural analysis; the method of synthesis of socio-legal phenomena; comparative-legal method; formal-logical method; statistical method. Results of the research. The analysis revealed that after the reform immigration policy of the UK has become more practical, as it has allowed to attract highly qualified specialists, talented students and promising entrepreneurs to the territory of the country regardless of the country of their citizenship. Using a wide range of tools (such as an extensive visa system and an electronic platform for selecting candidates for visas), the updated migration policy of the UK aims to regulate migration flows with the maximum benefit for the country and increased opportunities for fulfilling the professional potential of foreign labor migrants. Discussion and conclusion. The article substantiates the application of new tools for regulating external migration in the UK; analyzes their main advantages and disadvantages.