This paper reviews the impact of immigration policy on the competitiveness of countries in the context of “the global race for talent”. Immigration policy is regarded as one of the key tools to attract highly skilled migrants. Two basic models of selection policy mostly applied by states are distinguished: “demand driven” and “supply-driven”. A new trend of recent years is emphasized – transition to “hybrid” immigration regimes, which allows to use the strengths of both models and to be more responsive to the needs of national labor markets. However, convergence of immigration regimes does not lead to the coordination of skilled migration policies on the European or at international level. Conversely, it tends to enhance the competition between countries. Even at the EU level there is no full harmonization in immigration policies and issues of channels and quota admission of economic migrants remain in the competence of the Member states. Under “hybridization” of immigration regimes and increased “race for talent” there are more significant factors beyond the scope of immigration policy linked with political, social, economic, scientific, educational and cultural spheres: language, culture, development opportunities, salary, quality of life, professional management, access to quality higher education. As a result of a number of Russian governmental initiatives taken in recent years (the abolition of the quota to simplify HSM’s admission procedures, the introduction of a point system for granting a residence permit), Russia's immigration policy has become more selective and focused on highly-skilled migrants. However, for attracting and retaining talents structural measures have become increasingly significant. These include increasing competitiveness of Russian universities, development of a meritocratic and competitive environment in professional activity, multicultural practices in social life.