Ukraine will simplify border crossing for men under 22: what will change

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy instructed the government to prepare changes that would simplify crossing the state border for men under the age of 22.

He spoke about this at the youth forum “Youth is Here”.

The initiative envisages raising the age threshold from the current restriction of 18 years old – in order to remove obstacles for young people to travel abroad (study, work, internships, family circumstances) and “help young Ukrainians stay with Ukraine.”

“Currently, there is a restriction from 18 years old, I propose to increase it to 22 years old so that there are no restrictions when crossing the border. I believe that this is a positive story that will help young Ukrainians stay with Ukraine,” he said.

Therefore, he instructed the government to develop appropriate changes to the regulatory framework that would simplify the possibility of leaving for men under the age of 22.

What are the current rules?

Under wartime regulations in Ukraine, men between the ages of 18 and 60 are generally prohibited from traveling outside the country — with a number of exceptions. Among the already established exceptions, which the president cited, is the right to cross the border for:

• students of foreign universities;
• drivers (professional transportation);
• volunteers;
• parents of a large family;
• other categories provided for by law.

These rules operate within the framework of regime restrictions related to mobilization and martial law.

Zelensky’s initiative is primarily aimed at ensuring that men aged 18–21 (inclusive) have the opportunity to cross the state border with fewer formal obstacles. In practice, this could mean:

• reducing the list of documentary grounds that you need to have with you to travel (for example, confirmation of education or employment);
• automatic inclusion in the category of those allowed to leave for certain subgroups (students, internships, business trips, etc.);
• introduction of operational border control procedures that will allow border guards to make decisions more quickly when presented with standard grounds;
• Fewer cases of detention or refusal of border crossing for young men when their departure meets one of the typical reasons.

Important: the exact list of reliefs, the format of certificates, and the decision-making mechanism will be determined by the government during the development of the changes.

The President formally instructed the government to prepare the relevant changes — this means that the work should be led by the Cabinet of Ministers in coordination with relevant departments (probably the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Border Service, the Ministry of Defense, and the Ministry of Justice).

The typical procedure then is as follows: the government prepares a draft amendment (a resolution or regulatory act), publishes it, after which — depending on the jurisdiction — the amendments are either approved by the Cabinet of Ministers or submitted to the Verkhovna Rada, if legislative amendments are required. Zelensky did not give specific deadlines; the details and format of the amendments are to be published by the government later.

At the same time, Zelenskyy also instructed to work on simplifying admission to higher education institutions, in particular by considering the idea of a winter admission campaign so that applicants do not have to wait years in case of problems in the summer campaign. This complements the idea of general support for youth: simultaneous simplification of exit and more flexible admission should create more opportunities and development options for young people without forced departure forever.

Until the government announces specific mechanisms, men under the age of 22 who are planning to travel are advised to:

• follow official announcements from the Cabinet of Ministers and the State Border Service;
• if possible, have standard supporting documents (student ID/invitation from employer/internship certificate);
• plan trips taking into account the risk of temporary restrictions – before the changes come into effect.

Recall that in February the government simplified the border crossing rules for certain categories of men.

Previously, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine amended the rules for crossing the state border by men aged 18 to 25 during martial law.

It is worth adding that Volodymyr Viatrovych, a member of parliament from the European Solidarity faction, reported that the government’s proposed changes to the vocational education system contain very harmful norms that will push students to go abroad after their studies, rather than stay in Ukraine. In addition, the relevant changes violate current legislation.

Also follow “Pryamim” on Facebook , Twitter , Telegram , and Instagram.