The text of draft law No. 13685, which proposes to allow men of non-conscription age, i.e. up to and including 24 years of age, to travel abroad, has appeared on the website of the Verkhovna Rada.
The text of draft law No. 13685, which proposes to allow men of non-conscription age, i.e. up to and including 24 years of age, to travel abroad, has appeared on the website of the Verkhovna Rada.
As Oleksandr Fedienko, a People’s Deputy and co-author of the bill, explained on the air of «Suspilne.Studio», the bill does not establish a specific age from which men are prohibited from traveling abroad, and the changes concern specifically permission to travel before reaching draft age.
«We clearly state that mobilization takes place from the age of 25, it says who is a reservist, a conscript, a person subject to military service. Everyone who does not fall under this category will have the right to travel abroad without hindrance. Everyone who falls under another category, taking into account the changes that are currently in effect, is a reserved person, a serviceman who is on vacation, also has the right to cross the border for recreation — all this will continue to work,» said Fedienko.
According to the explanatory note to the bill, there are currently restrictions on the right to travel abroad for male conscripts and conscripts between the ages of 18 and 60.
At the same time, according to the law «On Mobilization Training and Mobilization», men under the age of 25 who have completed basic military training or basic military service are not subject to conscription. The law also does not provide for the possibility of conscription of men aged 17 to 25. Therefore, citizens belonging to this category cannot travel outside Ukraine, even if they are not subject to conscription.
As an exception, two categories of persons currently have the right to leave Ukraine:
«At the same time, a large number of men aged 18 to 25 who work or study abroad have been unable to return to their families in Ukraine for more than three years, because due to the established restrictions, they will not be able to leave Ukraine again. Moreover, some families deliberately send their 17-year-old children from Ukraine abroad, understanding that after they reach the age of 18, leaving will become impossible,» the explanatory note says.
Therefore, the ban on free travel abroad for male citizens of Ukraine aged 18–25 creates «serious obstacles to the return of young people to Ukraine and difficulties in maintaining ties with their families and the Motherland.»
«This ban provokes the search for ways to circumvent it, which are usually associated with violating the law. Thus, the need to revise the rules for traveling abroad for conscripts and military personnel who have not reached the age of conscription is obvious and does not pose significant threats from the point of view of ensuring Ukraine’s defense capability,» the note says.
At the same time, men who have reached the age of 25 are subject to conscription on general grounds. Therefore, according to the authors of the bill, to prevent abuse of the right to leave, «it is advisable to maintain the existing restriction for men who will reach the age of 25 in the current or next year.»
As a reminder, on August 12, 2025, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that the government would work with the military command to simplify the possibility of crossing the border for Ukrainian men under the age of 22.
On August 18, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko told Suspilny that the government may adopt a resolution that would allow men under the age of 22 to travel abroad. On August 22, a bill was submitted to the Verkhovna Rada on the procedure for leaving Ukraine and entering Ukraine for Ukrainian citizens during martial law.
On August 22, it became known that draft law No. 13685 was submitted to the Verkhovna Rada. It contains provisions on allowing men aged 18 to 22 to travel abroad.
