🔗 Share this article

Earlier this year, a video from an Indian travel influencer expressing frustration over the limited power of the Indian passport went viral across digital platforms.

The influencer stated although neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka and Bhutan offered easier access to Indian tourists, securing travel permits to travel to most Western and European countries continued to be difficult.

Such concerns with India's poor passport strength found confirmation in recent Henley Passport Index, ranking India at position eighty-five out of nearly two hundred nations, five spots lower compared to the previous year.

The Indian government has not commented on the report yet.

Nations including Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size than India – which is the world's fifth biggest economy – hold better positions in the ranking in the seventies range, in that order.

Actually, the country's position over the last ten years has remained in the 80s, even dipping to the 90th spot two years ago. Such standings appear poor when measured against Asian nations like Japan, South Korea and Singapore, which have consistently held leading ranks.

What Passport Strength Indicates

Passport strength indicates a nation's soft power and global influence. This leads to better mobility for its citizens, boosting business and educational prospects. Limited passport power results in additional documentation, higher visa costs, 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 grown in the past decade or so.

As an instance, in 2014 – the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party came to power – 52 countries offered visa-free travel for Indian passport holders with the passport ranked 76th in the ranking.

A year later, it tumbled to eighty-fifth place, then rose to 80th in 2023 and 2024, dropping again to the eighty-fifth spot currently. Meanwhile, countries allowing visa-free travel for Indians increased from 52 in 2015 to 60 in 2023 and 62 in 2024.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The count of nations allowing visa-free entry in 2025 (fifty-seven) exceeds the number eight years ago (52), but the country's position for both these years is 85. So, why is that?

Analysts note that a major reason involves growing competition in international travel – indicating that countries are forming additional travel agreements to benefit their citizens and economic growth. As per recent analysis, the worldwide mean number of destinations people can visit without visas has almost doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to 109 in 2025.

For example, China has expanded its count of visa-free countries its citizens can travel to from fifty to eighty-two over the last ten years. Consequently, its rank on the index has improved from ninety-fourth to sixtieth in that same duration.

Meanwhile, The Indian passport – which was ranked at seventy-seventh place during summer – dropped to the 85th position in October following the loss to two countries.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

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

For instance, the US passport has fallen of the top 10 currently holding twelfth place – its lowest ever – due to its increasingly insular stance in world politics.

The diplomat mentioned how in the 1970s, Indian citizens had visa-free access to numerous European and Western nations, but that changed following Sikh separatist movement during the eighties. Subsequent political upheavals have further chipped away the country's reputation as a stable, democratic country.

"Many countries are growing more cautious regarding migrants," the diplomat added. "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 such as how secure a country's passport is and its immigration procedures also play a role in gaining visa-free access to other countries.

Enhanced Security Measures

India's passport faces ongoing security threats. In 2024, law enforcement detained 203 people for alleged passport and visa irregularities. The country also has complex immigration processes and a slow pace for visa approvals.

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 that stores biometric information, increasing difficulty to forge or tamper with the passport.

However, increased diplomatic efforts and travel agreements continue essential for enhancing the global mobility of Indians and consequently, India's passport ranking.