Neoliberal migration states in the Gulf: High-skilled migrants, domestic socio-legal reforms and the centralized migration management in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

This article examines how Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, specifically Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), have shifted from a laissez-faire to a centralized migration management model to attract and retain high-skilled migrants. It argues that these Global South host states employ a combination of "hard" legal reforms (such as citizenship and residency by investment schemes) and "soft" socio-cultural and infrastructural reforms to optimize domestic rent-seeking and advance geopolitical interests. Through qualitative case studies, the article highlights how Saudi Arabia’s Premium Residence Scheme and the UAE’s Golden Visa program, alongside urban modernization and social liberalization efforts, serve as strategic tools to compete regionally and globally for skilled human capital essential to economic diversification and development. The study situates these reforms within the broader concept of neoliberal migration states in the Global South, emphasizing their political agency in leveraging migration governance for long-term economic and geopolitical gains.