diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/common.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/common.go
index c47115f6197..70d5cc650ee 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/common.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/common.go
@@ -96,6 +96,21 @@ func enforceRequirements(flags *applyPlanFlags, dryRun bool, newK8sVersion strin
 		cfg, err = configutil.FetchInitConfigurationFromCluster(client, os.Stdout, "upgrade/config", false)
 	}
 
+	if err != nil {
+		if apierrors.IsNotFound(err) {
+			fmt.Printf("[upgrade/config] In order to upgrade, a ConfigMap called %q in the %s namespace must exist.\n", constants.KubeadmConfigConfigMap, metav1.NamespaceSystem)
+			fmt.Println("[upgrade/config] Without this information, 'kubeadm upgrade' won't know how to configure your upgraded cluster.")
+			fmt.Println("")
+			fmt.Println("[upgrade/config] Next steps:")
+			fmt.Printf("\t- OPTION 1: Run 'kubeadm config upload from-flags' and specify the same CLI arguments you passed to 'kubeadm init' when you created your control-plane.\n")
+			fmt.Printf("\t- OPTION 2: Run 'kubeadm config upload from-file' and specify the same config file you passed to 'kubeadm init' when you created your control-plane.\n")
+			fmt.Printf("\t- OPTION 3: Pass a config file to 'kubeadm upgrade' using the --config flag.\n")
+			fmt.Println("")
+			err = errors.Errorf("the ConfigMap %q in the %s namespace used for getting configuration information was not found", constants.KubeadmConfigConfigMap, metav1.NamespaceSystem)
+		}
+		return nil, nil, nil, errors.Wrap(err, "[upgrade/config] FATAL")
+	}
+
 	ignorePreflightErrorsSet, err := validation.ValidateIgnorePreflightErrors(flags.ignorePreflightErrors, cfg.NodeRegistration.IgnorePreflightErrors)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, nil, nil, err
@@ -114,21 +129,6 @@ func enforceRequirements(flags *applyPlanFlags, dryRun bool, newK8sVersion strin
 		return nil, nil, nil, errors.Wrap(err, "[upgrade/health] FATAL")
 	}
 
-	if err != nil {
-		if apierrors.IsNotFound(err) {
-			fmt.Printf("[upgrade/config] In order to upgrade, a ConfigMap called %q in the %s namespace must exist.\n", constants.KubeadmConfigConfigMap, metav1.NamespaceSystem)
-			fmt.Println("[upgrade/config] Without this information, 'kubeadm upgrade' won't know how to configure your upgraded cluster.")
-			fmt.Println("")
-			fmt.Println("[upgrade/config] Next steps:")
-			fmt.Printf("\t- OPTION 1: Run 'kubeadm config upload from-flags' and specify the same CLI arguments you passed to 'kubeadm init' when you created your control-plane.\n")
-			fmt.Printf("\t- OPTION 2: Run 'kubeadm config upload from-file' and specify the same config file you passed to 'kubeadm init' when you created your control-plane.\n")
-			fmt.Printf("\t- OPTION 3: Pass a config file to 'kubeadm upgrade' using the --config flag.\n")
-			fmt.Println("")
-			err = errors.Errorf("the ConfigMap %q in the %s namespace used for getting configuration information was not found", constants.KubeadmConfigConfigMap, metav1.NamespaceSystem)
-		}
-		return nil, nil, nil, errors.Wrap(err, "[upgrade/config] FATAL")
-	}
-
 	// If a new k8s version should be set, apply the change before printing the config
 	if len(newK8sVersion) != 0 {
 		cfg.KubernetesVersion = newK8sVersion