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Earlier this year, a video by a popular travel content creator complaining about the limited power of the Indian passport went viral on social media.

The influencer stated although nearby nations such as Bhutan and Sri Lanka offered easier access of Indian tourists, securing travel permits to travel to many nations in Europe and the West continued to be difficult.

Such concerns regarding India's poor passport strength found confirmation in the latest global passport ranking, ranking India at position eighty-five out of nearly two hundred nations, five spots lower than last year.

The Indian government have not issued a statement regarding these findings so far.

Nations including Rwanda, Ghana and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size compared to India – which is the fifth-largest economy globally – are ranked higher on the index at the 78th, 74th and 72nd spots, in that order.

Actually, the country's position in the past decade has hovered in the 80s, falling to the 90th spot two years ago. These rankings appear poor when measured against other Asian countries such as Singapore, Japan and South Korea, all maintaining leading ranks.

Global Passport Power Measures

Passport strength reflects a country's global influence and global influence. This leads to enhanced travel freedom for passport holders, boosting business and educational prospects. A weak passport results in more paperwork, increased visa expenses, reduced travel benefits and extended processing periods for travel.

But despite the decline in the rank, the count of nations providing visa-free travel to Indians has actually increased in the past decade or so.

For example, eight years ago – the year the current administration's ruling party assumed office – fifty-two nations provided visa-free access to Indians with the passport ranked 76th on the index.

The following year, it fell to the 85th position, then improved to eightieth over the past two years, declining once more to the 85th position this year. At the same time, countries allowing visa-free travel 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 this year (57) exceeds the number eight years ago (52), yet India's rank during both periods is 85. What explains this situation?

Experts say that a major reason involves growing competition in global mobility – indicating that countries are entering into more travel partnerships for their populations' advantage and economic growth. According to recent analysis, the global average count of countries travellers are able to access without visas has nearly doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to 109 in 2025.

For example, The Chinese passport has expanded its count of visa-free destinations its citizens can travel to from 50 to 82 over the last ten years. Consequently, its position in the ranking has enhanced from 94th to 60th in that same duration.

In comparison, India – which was ranked 77th on the index in July – fell to the 85th position in October following the loss of two nations.

Additional Factors Affecting Passport Strength

A former Indian ambassador says there are other factors that affect the strength of a country's passport, like economic and political conditions plus its openness to welcoming citizens from abroad.

For example, the American passport has fallen from the top ten and now occupies the 12th position – its lowest ever – because of its increasingly insular stance in global affairs.

The former ambassador mentioned how in the 1970s, Indians enjoyed visa-free access to many Western and European countries, though this shifted following Sikh separatist movement during the eighties. Subsequent political upheavals have further chipped away the country's reputation as a stable democracy.

"Many countries are growing increasingly wary of immigrants," the diplomat added. "The country possesses a high number of citizens emigrating overseas or remaining beyond visa limits and that interferes with the country's reputation."

Elements like how secure a country's passport is and immigration processes also contribute to obtaining visa-free access to other countries.

Enhanced Security Measures

India's passport faces ongoing security threats. In 2024, authorities detained 203 people for suspected visa and passport fraud. The country also has complex immigration processes and a slow pace of visa processing.

The diplomat says that technological advances, like India's recently-launched electronic passport or e-passport, can improve security and streamline immigration. The e-passport contains a small chip holding biometric information, increasing difficulty to forge or tamper with the document.

However, more diplomatic outreach and travel partnerships continue essential to boosting international travel freedom for Indian citizens and, by extension, India's passport ranking.