There has never been a better time to own a Ukrainian passport, it would seem. A new global survey assessing visa-free access for different national passports has ranked Ukraine as the world’s sixth biggest climber over the past decade.

Published on 7 January 2020, the latest edition of the annual Henley Passport Index placed Ukraine in forty-third position among 199 featured countries. The Index noted that Ukraine had climbed 22 places since 2010, putting the country in sixth position globally in terms of improved international access over the past decade.

In 2010, Ukrainian passports secured visa-free entry to just 64 countries. This figure has now doubled to 128 countries. Key breakthroughs include the advent of visa-free travel to the European Union, which began in June 2017 in line with Ukraine’s landmark Association Agreement with the EU.

The Henley Passport Index is an annual global ranking of countries according to the travel freedom of passport holders. Launched in 2006, the ranking is calculated in collaboration with the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

With the exception of the three EU member Baltic States, Ukraine is now the clear leader among former Soviet republics in terms of visa-free international access. Fifty-first placed Russia is eight positions behind Ukraine in the latest edition of the global passport ranking, followed by Georgia in the fifty-third spot.