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Earlier this year, a video by an Indian travel influencer expressing frustration over the limited power of the Indian passport gained massive traction across digital platforms.

He mentioned although neighbouring countries like Bhutan and Sri Lanka offered easier access to Indian tourists, obtaining visas to travel to many nations in Europe and the West remained a challenge.

Such concerns with India's poor passport strength was reflected in the latest 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 on the report yet.

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

Actually, the country's position in the past decade has remained in the 80s, even dipping to ninetieth place in 2021. Such standings appear poor when measured against Asian nations such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore, all maintaining leading ranks.

Global Passport Power Indicates

Passport strength reflects a country's global influence and international standing. This leads to enhanced travel freedom for passport holders, boosting business and learning opportunities. A weak passport means more paperwork, higher visa costs, fewer travel privileges and longer waiting times for travel.

However, even with the drop in position, the count of nations providing visa-free travel for Indian citizens has actually increased in the past decade or so.

As an instance, in 2014 – the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power – 52 countries provided visa-free access for Indian passport holders with the passport ranked 76th in the ranking.

The following year, it tumbled to eighty-fifth place, then improved to 80th over the past two years, declining once more to the 85th position currently. Meanwhile, visa-free destinations to Indian citizens increased from fifty-two eight years ago to sixty last year and sixty-two this year.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The count of nations allowing visa-free entry in 2025 (fifty-seven) is higher than the number in 2015 (fifty-two), yet the country's position for both these years remains at eighty-fifth. So, why is that?

Experts say that a primary factor involves growing competition in international travel – indicating that countries are entering into more travel partnerships for their populations' advantage and their economies. According to a 2025 report, the global average number of destinations travellers are able to access visa-free has nearly doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to one hundred nine currently.

For example, China 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 in the ranking has enhanced from ninety-fourth to sixtieth during the same time period.

Meanwhile, India – which was ranked at seventy-seventh place in July – dropped to the 85th position this autumn after losing access to two countries.

Additional Factors Affecting Passport Strength

An ex-diplomat from India says multiple elements influencing a nation's passport power, like its economic and political stability plus its openness to accepting travelers from abroad.

For instance, the US passport has fallen from the top ten and now occupies twelfth place – a historic low – due to its increasingly insular stance in world politics.

The diplomat recalls how in the 1970s, Indian citizens had visa-free travel to many Western and European countries, though this shifted after the Sikh separatist movement during the eighties. Later political disturbances have continued to damage at India's image as a stable democracy.

"Many countries are growing more cautious regarding migrants," he stated. "The country possesses a large quantity of citizens emigrating overseas or overstaying their visas affecting the national image."

Elements like how secure of a national passport and its immigration procedures also play a role in gaining visa-free entry to foreign nations.

Enhanced Security Measures

India's passport faces ongoing security threats. In 2024, law enforcement arrested over two hundred individuals for suspected passport and visa irregularities. The country also has complex immigration processes and a slow pace for visa approvals.

The former ambassador says that technological advances, like India's recently-launched digital passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and ease the immigration process. This electronic document includes a microchip holding biometric information, making it harder to forge or tamper with the document.

But, increased diplomatic efforts and travel partnerships continue essential for enhancing the global mobility for Indian citizens and consequently, India's passport ranking.