The Ukraine war is yet to have a significant impact on the Henley Passport Index scores of Ukraine and Russia, with both countries retaining roughly the same position ‘on paper’ since the invasion nearly a year ago. Russia is currently ranked 49th with a score of 118, while Ukraine sits 13 places above, ranking 36th with a score of 144. However, due to airspace closures and sanctions, Russian citizens are effectively barred from traveling throughout most of the developed world, with the marked exceptions of the UAE and Türkiye, which have become focal points.
Ukrainians, on the other hand, have been granted the right to live and work in the EU for up to three years under an emergency plan in response to what has become Europe’s biggest refugee crisis this century. Already one of the biggest climbers on the Henley Passport Index, moving up 24 places over the past decade, Ukraine would likely break into the Top Ten World’s Most Powerful Passports if it were to join the EU. Negotiations for membership are due to begin in earnest in the next few months after the EU approved Ukraine’s application for EU candidate status in record time last June.
Leading financial journalist and author, Misha Glenny, says it’s hard to overestimate how the continuing conflict will dictate global politics and the economy throughout 2023. “It’s a brutal ground war in which one combatant possesses more nuclear warheads than any other country on the planet. The Russian and Ukrainian economies exert a huge influence over two vital sectors of the global economy — energy and agriculture. This has been reflected in steep price rises, turning a manageable inflationary struggle into a dangerous one.”
