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Earlier this year, an online clip from an Indian travel influencer expressing frustration over India's weak passport went viral across digital platforms.

The influencer stated although nearby nations like Sri Lanka and Bhutan were more welcoming to travelers from India, securing travel permits to travel to many nations in Europe and the West remained a challenge.

This dissatisfaction regarding the limited global access of Indian passports was reflected in recent Henley Passport Index, ranking India in the 85th spot out of nearly two hundred nations, a decline of five positions than last year.

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

Nations including Rwanda, Ghana and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size than India – a nation that is the fifth-largest economy globally – are ranked higher in the ranking at the 78th, 74th and 72nd spots, respectively.

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

What Passport Strength Measures

Passport strength indicates a country's global influence and global influence. It also translates into better mobility for its citizens, improving commercial and educational prospects. Limited passport power 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 the current administration's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power – fifty-two nations provided visa-free travel to Indians with the passport at seventy-sixth position in the ranking.

The following year, it fell to the 85th position, then improved to eightieth over the past two years, dropping again to the eighty-fifth spot this year. At the same time, countries allowing visa-free travel for Indians increased from 52 in 2015 to sixty last year and sixty-two this year.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The count of nations allowing visa-free entry in 2025 (fifty-seven) exceeds the number eight years ago (fifty-two), but the country's position for both these years is 85. What explains this situation?

Experts say that a major reason is the increasingly competitive landscape in international travel – indicating that nations are forming more travel partnerships to benefit their citizens and economic growth. According to recent analysis, the global average count of countries travellers are able to access without visas has almost doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to one hundred nine currently.

For example, China has expanded its count of visa-free destinations available to its citizens from fifty to eighty-two in the past decade. As a result, its position on the index has enhanced from 94th to 60th in that same duration.

Meanwhile, The Indian passport – which was ranked 77th on the index in July – fell to the 85th position in October after losing access of two nations.

Other Influences Impacting Passport Power

A former Indian ambassador notes multiple elements influencing the strength of a country's passport, like its economic and political stability as well as its receptiveness to welcoming citizens from abroad.

For example, the US passport has fallen of the top 10 currently holding twelfth place – a historic low – because of its more inward-looking approach in global affairs.

The former ambassador recalls how in the 1970s, Indian citizens had visa-free travel to numerous European and Western nations, though this shifted after the Khalistan movement in the 1980s. Later political disturbances have continued to damage the country's reputation as a stable, democratic country.

"Numerous nations are also becoming increasingly wary regarding migrants," he stated. "The country possesses a large quantity of citizens emigrating to other countries or remaining beyond visa limits and that interferes with the national image."

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

Enhanced Security Measures

India's passport faces ongoing security threats. In 2024, authorities detained over two hundred individuals for suspected visa and passport fraud. The country also has complex immigration processes with lengthy timelines for visa approvals.

The former ambassador says that technological advances, like India's recently-launched electronic passport or e-passport, can improve security and streamline immigration. The e-passport includes a small chip that stores biometric data, increasing difficulty to counterfeit or alter the passport.

However, increased diplomatic efforts and travel agreements remain key to boosting the global mobility of Indians and, by extension, India's passport ranking.