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Earlier this year, a video from a popular travel content creator complaining about India's weak passport gained massive traction across digital platforms.

He mentioned that while neighbouring countries such as Sri Lanka and Bhutan were more welcoming of Indian tourists, obtaining visas for visiting most Western and European countries remained a challenge.

This dissatisfaction with the limited global access of Indian passports found confirmation in recent Henley Passport Index, ranking the country in the 85th spot among nearly two hundred nations, a decline of five positions than last year.

Officials in India has not commented on the report yet.

Countries like Rwanda, Ghana and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size compared to India – which is the world's fifth biggest economy – are ranked higher in the ranking at the 78th, 74th and 72nd spots, in that order.

Actually, the country's position in the past decade has remained around the eighties, falling to the 90th spot two years ago. Such standings appear poor compared to Asian nations like Singapore, Japan and South Korea, all maintaining leading ranks.

Global Passport Power Measures

Passport strength indicates a country's global influence and international standing. It also translates into better mobility for its citizens, improving commercial and educational prospects. A weak passport results in more paperwork, increased visa expenses, fewer travel privileges and longer waiting times for travel.

However, even with the decline in the rank, the count of nations offering visa-free access for Indian citizens has actually increased over the last ten years.

As an instance, in 2014 – when Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party came to power – fifty-two nations provided visa-free access for Indian passport holders and its passport at seventy-sixth position in the ranking.

The following year, it fell to the 85th position, then improved to 80th over the past two years, declining once more to the eighty-fifth spot currently. Meanwhile, countries allowing visa-free travel to Indian citizens increased from 52 in 2015 to sixty last year and 62 in 2024.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The number of nations allowing visa-free entry in 2025 (fifty-seven) is higher than the number eight years ago (fifty-two), yet India's rank during both periods is 85. So, why is that?

Experts say that a primary factor involves growing competition in global mobility – indicating that countries are entering into additional travel agreements to benefit their citizens and economic growth. As per recent analysis, the global average number of destinations people can visit without visas has nearly doubled from 58 in 2006 to one hundred nine currently.

As an illustration, The Chinese passport has expanded its count of visa-free countries its citizens can travel to from 50 to 82 in the past decade. As a result, its position on the index has improved from ninety-fourth to sixtieth in that same duration.

In comparison, India – previously positioned at seventy-seventh place in July – fell to the 85th position this autumn following the loss of two nations.

Additional Factors Affecting Passport Strength

An ex-diplomat from India says there are other factors influencing the strength of a country's passport, like economic and political conditions as well as its receptiveness to accepting travelers from other countries.

For example, the American passport has dropped out from the top ten currently holding twelfth place – its lowest ever – due to its increasingly insular stance in world politics.

The former ambassador mentioned that during the seventies, Indian citizens had visa-free access to many Western and European countries, but that changed following Khalistan movement during the eighties. Later political disturbances have continued to damage at India's image as a stable, democratic country.

"Many countries are also becoming increasingly wary of immigrants," the diplomat added. "India has a high number of citizens emigrating overseas or overstaying their visas and that interferes with the national image."

Elements like how secure a country's passport is and its immigration procedures also contribute in gaining visa-free access to foreign nations.

Security and Technological Improvements

India's passport remains vulnerable to security threats. Last year, authorities detained over two hundred individuals for suspected passport and visa irregularities. India is also known for complex immigration processes and a slow pace of visa processing.

The former ambassador says that new technologies, such as the newly introduced electronic passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and streamline immigration. The e-passport contains a small chip holding biometric data, increasing difficulty to forge or tamper with the document.

But, increased diplomatic efforts and travel partnerships continue essential for enhancing the global mobility of Indians and, by extension, India's passport ranking.