The author examines in detail the regional legal regulation of external labor migration in the Russian Federation, taking into account the transformation of the main tasks of the state migration policy of the Russian Federation at the present stage. The object of the study is external labor migration in modern Russia, the subject of the study is the mechanisms of regulation of external labor migration at the regional level. The study examines the legislative foundations of both a complete ban on the involvement of foreign workers in temporary employment, and a partial ban related to certain areas of economic activity. The author also considers the possibilities of regulating the cost of obtaining permits (licenses) and developing alternative programs for external labor migration related to the introduction of organized, targeted and returnable external migration. As methods of scientific research, political, legal and institutional analysis were applied, as well as a systematic method used to study public administration in the field of migration. The systematization of the existing restrictive tools in the field of external labor migration, which can currently be used by the authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, has been carried out by the author. The features of the implementation of each of the considered mechanisms are revealed. A new approach in the field of management of external labor migration is proposed, related to the development of regional programs for the organized involvement of foreign citizens in temporary work on the territory of the subjects of the Russian Federation on the basis of existing international agreements. The potential positive trends associated with the introduction of organized recruitment mechanisms in the context of the transition to a segregationist model of migration policy, which is currently being successfully applied in a number of Arab States, such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, are predicted.