🔗 Share this article

Earlier this year, an online clip from an Indian travel influencer complaining about the limited power of the Indian passport gained massive traction across digital platforms.

The influencer stated although neighbouring countries such as Sri Lanka and Bhutan offered easier access to Indian tourists, securing travel permits for visiting most Western and European countries remained a challenge.

This dissatisfaction with the limited global access of Indian passports found confirmation in recent global passport ranking, ranking India in the 85th spot among 199 countries, a decline of five positions compared to the previous year.

The Indian government has not commented regarding these findings yet.

Nations including Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan with much smaller economies than India – which is the fifth-largest economy globally – hold better positions in the ranking at the 78th, 74th and 72nd spots, respectively.

In fact, India's rank over the last ten years has remained around the eighties, falling to the 90th spot in 2021. These rankings are dismal compared to Asian nations like Japan, South Korea and Singapore, which have consistently held leading ranks.

What Passport Strength Indicates

The power of a passport indicates a country's global influence and global influence. This leads to better mobility for passport holders, boosting business and learning opportunities. A weak passport means more paperwork, increased visa expenses, fewer travel privileges and extended processing periods when journeying.

But despite the drop in position, the number of countries offering visa-free access for Indian citizens has actually increased in the past decade or so.

As an instance, eight years ago – the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party came to power – 52 countries provided visa-free access to Indians with the passport at seventy-sixth position on the index.

The following year, it tumbled to the 85th position, then rose to 80th in 2023 and 2024, declining once more to the 85th position this year. Meanwhile, visa-free destinations to Indian citizens grew from fifty-two eight years ago to 60 in 2023 and sixty-two this year.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The number of nations allowing visa-free entry this year (57) exceeds what it was eight years ago (52), but the country's position for both these years remains at eighty-fifth. So, why is that?

Analysts note that a major reason involves growing competition in global mobility – indicating that countries are forming more travel partnerships for their populations' advantage and their economies. As per a 2025 report, the worldwide mean count of countries travellers are able to access visa-free has nearly doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to one hundred nine currently.

For example, The Chinese passport has expanded the number of visa-free countries available to its citizens from fifty to eighty-two in the past decade. Consequently, its rank on the index has enhanced from 94th to 60th in that same duration.

In comparison, The Indian passport – which was ranked at seventy-seventh place during summer – dropped to eighty-fifth place this autumn following the loss to two countries.

Additional Factors Affecting Passport Strength

An ex-diplomat from India says there are other factors influencing the strength of a country's passport, like its economic and political stability plus its receptiveness to welcoming citizens from other countries.

For instance, the US passport has dropped out of the top 10 currently holding the 12th position – a historic low – because of its more inward-looking approach in world politics.

The former ambassador mentioned how in the 1970s, Indian citizens had visa-free access to numerous European and Western nations, though this shifted following Sikh separatist movement in the 1980s. Later political disturbances have continued to damage at India's image as a stable, democratic country.

"Numerous nations are growing increasingly wary regarding migrants," the diplomat added. "The country possesses a large quantity of people migrating overseas or overstaying their visas and that interferes with the country's reputation."

Factors like how secure of a national passport and its immigration procedures also play a role in gaining visa-free access to other countries.

Enhanced Security Measures

India's passport remains vulnerable to security threats. In 2024, law enforcement arrested 203 people for suspected visa and passport fraud. The country also has cumbersome immigration procedures and a slow pace for visa approvals.

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 includes a small chip that stores biometric data, increasing difficulty to counterfeit or alter the passport.

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