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Earlier this year, a video by a popular travel content creator expressing frustration over India's weak passport gained massive traction on social media.

He mentioned that while neighbouring countries like Bhutan and Sri Lanka were more welcoming of Indian tourists, securing travel permits for visiting most Western and European countries continued to be difficult.

This dissatisfaction regarding India's poor passport strength was reflected in recent global passport ranking, which placed India at position eighty-five among 199 countries, a decline of five positions compared to the previous year.

Officials in India have not issued a statement regarding these findings so far.

Countries including Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan with much smaller economies compared to India – which is the fifth-largest economy globally – hold better positions on the index in the seventies range, respectively.

In fact, India's rank over the last ten years has remained around the eighties, even dipping to the 90th spot in 2021. Such standings are dismal when measured against other Asian countries like Japan, South Korea and Singapore, all maintaining top positions.

What Passport Strength Indicates

The power of a passport indicates a nation's soft power and international standing. This leads to better mobility for passport holders, improving commercial and learning opportunities. Limited passport power results in additional documentation, higher visa costs, fewer travel privileges and extended processing periods when journeying.

However, even with the drop in position, the number of countries offering visa-free access to Indians has actually increased over the last ten years.

For example, in 2014 – when Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power – 52 countries provided visa-free travel for Indian passport holders and its passport at seventy-sixth position on the index.

A year later, it fell to eighty-fifth place, then improved to eightieth over the past two years, declining once more to the eighty-fifth spot this year. At the same time, visa-free destinations for Indians grew from 52 in 2015 to 60 in 2023 and sixty-two this year.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The count of visa-free destinations in 2025 (fifty-seven) exceeds the number in 2015 (52), yet the country's position for both these years remains at eighty-fifth. What explains this situation?

Experts say that a primary factor is the increasingly competitive landscape in global mobility – meaning nations are entering into more travel partnerships for their populations' advantage and economic growth. According to a 2025 report, the global average count of countries people can visit without visas has almost doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to one hundred nine currently.

For example, The Chinese passport has increased its count of visa-free countries its citizens can travel to from fifty to eighty-two over the last ten years. As a result, its rank on the index has improved from ninety-fourth to sixtieth during the same time period.

In comparison, India – which was ranked at seventy-seventh place in July – fell to the 85th position this autumn after losing access of two nations.

Other Influences Affecting Passport Strength

An ex-diplomat from India notes multiple elements influencing a nation's passport power, like economic and political conditions as well as its openness to welcoming citizens from other countries.

For instance, the American passport has dropped out of the top 10 currently holding the 12th position – a historic low – due to its increasingly insular stance in world politics.

The diplomat recalls that during the seventies, Indians enjoyed visa-free travel to numerous European and Western nations, but that changed after the Khalistan movement during the eighties. Subsequent political upheavals have further chipped away the country's reputation as a stable democracy.

"Numerous nations are growing more cautious regarding migrants," he stated. "India has a high number of citizens emigrating to other countries or remaining beyond visa limits and that interferes with the country's reputation."

Elements such as the security level of a national passport and immigration processes also play a role in gaining visa-free entry to foreign nations.

Enhanced Security Measures

The Indian passport faces ongoing security risks. In 2024, law enforcement arrested over two hundred individuals for suspected visa and passport fraud. India is also known for cumbersome immigration procedures with lengthy timelines of visa processing.

The diplomat indicated that technological advances, like India's recently-launched digital passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and streamline immigration. This electronic document contains a small chip holding biometric data, making it harder to forge or tamper with the passport.

But, more diplomatic outreach and travel agreements continue essential to boosting international travel freedom for Indian citizens and consequently, India's passport ranking.