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Earlier this year, a video by an Indian travel influencer expressing frustration over India's weak passport went viral across digital platforms.

The influencer stated that while neighbouring countries like Bhutan and Sri Lanka offered easier access of travelers from India, obtaining visas to travel to most Western and European countries remained a challenge.

Such concerns with the limited global access of Indian passports found confirmation in recent Henley Passport Index, ranking the country in the 85th spot among nearly two hundred nations, a decline of five positions compared to the previous year.

The Indian government have not issued a statement on the report yet.

Nations like Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan with much smaller economies than India – a nation that is the world's fifth biggest economy – are ranked higher on the index in the seventies range, in that order.

In fact, India's rank over the last ten years has remained in the 80s, even dipping to the 90th spot two years ago. These rankings are dismal when measured against other Asian countries such as Singapore, Japan and South Korea, all maintaining leading ranks.

Global Passport Power Measures

Passport strength indicates a country's global influence and global influence. It also translates into enhanced travel freedom for its citizens, boosting business and learning opportunities. A weak passport means additional documentation, increased visa expenses, reduced travel benefits and extended processing periods for travel.

But despite the drop in position, the count of nations offering visa-free access for Indian citizens has actually increased over the last ten years.

For example, eight years ago – the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power – 52 countries offered visa-free access for Indian passport holders and its passport ranked 76th in the ranking.

A year later, it fell to the 85th position, then improved to eightieth in 2023 and 2024, dropping again to the eighty-fifth spot currently. Meanwhile, visa-free destinations to Indian citizens increased from fifty-two eight years ago to sixty last year and sixty-two this year.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The count of nations allowing visa-free entry this year (57) is higher than what it was eight years ago (52), but India's rank for both these years remains at eighty-fifth. So, why is that?

Analysts note that a primary factor is the increasingly competitive landscape in global mobility – meaning countries are entering into more travel partnerships to benefit their citizens and their economies. According to a 2025 report, the worldwide mean count of countries people can visit without visas has almost doubled from 58 in 2006 to 109 in 2025.

As an illustration, The Chinese passport has expanded the number of visa-free countries its citizens can travel to from fifty to eighty-two over the last ten years. As a result, its position in the ranking has improved from 94th to 60th during the same time period.

In comparison, India – previously positioned at seventy-seventh place during summer – dropped to the 85th position this autumn after losing access of two nations.

Additional Factors Affecting Passport Strength

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

For example, the American passport has fallen of the top 10 currently holding the 12th position – its lowest ever – due to its increasingly insular stance in global affairs.

The diplomat recalls how in the 1970s, Indian citizens had visa-free travel to numerous European and Western nations, 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 also becoming more cautious of immigrants," he stated. "The country possesses a large quantity of citizens emigrating to other countries or overstaying their visas and that interferes with the national image."

Elements like the security level a country's passport is and its immigration procedures also contribute in gaining visa-free access to other countries.

Enhanced Security Measures

India's passport faces ongoing security threats. In 2024, authorities arrested over two hundred individuals for alleged visa and passport fraud. The country also has complex immigration processes and a slow pace of visa processing.

The diplomat says that new technologies, such as the newly introduced digital passport or e-passport, can improve security and streamline immigration. This electronic document contains a small chip holding biometric data, making it harder to counterfeit or alter the passport.

However, more diplomatic outreach and travel partnerships remain key to boosting international travel freedom for Indian citizens and, by extension, the Indian passport's global position.