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Earlier this year, a video from an Indian travel influencer expressing frustration over the limited power of the Indian passport went viral on social media.

The influencer stated although neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka and Bhutan offered easier access of Indian tourists, obtaining visas to travel to many nations in Europe and the West continued to be difficult.

This dissatisfaction with the limited global access of Indian passports found confirmation in recent global passport ranking, ranking India at position eighty-five among nearly two hundred nations, five spots lower than last year.

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

Countries like 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, in that order.

Actually, India's rank over the last ten years has remained in the 80s, even dipping to ninetieth place in 2021. These rankings are dismal compared to Asian nations such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore, which have consistently held leading ranks.

What Passport Strength Measures

Passport strength indicates a nation's soft power and international standing. It also translates into enhanced travel freedom for its citizens, improving commercial and educational prospects. Limited passport power results in more paperwork, higher visa costs, fewer travel privileges and extended processing periods when journeying.

However, even with the decline in the rank, the number of countries offering visa-free access to Indians has grown in the past decade or so.

As an instance, in 2014 – when Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party assumed office – fifty-two nations provided visa-free travel to Indians with the passport ranked 76th on the index.

The following year, it fell to the 85th position, then improved to 80th in 2023 and 2024, dropping again to the eighty-fifth spot this year. At the same time, visa-free destinations to Indian citizens increased from 52 in 2015 to sixty last year and 62 in 2024.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The number of visa-free destinations in 2025 (fifty-seven) is higher than the number in 2015 (fifty-two), but India's rank during both periods remains at eighty-fifth. So, why is that?

Analysts note that a primary factor involves growing competition in international travel – indicating that countries are forming more travel partnerships for their populations' advantage and economic growth. According to recent analysis, the worldwide mean number of destinations people can visit visa-free has almost doubled from 58 in 2006 to one hundred nine currently.

As an illustration, The Chinese passport has increased the number of visa-free countries its citizens can travel to from 50 to 82 in the past decade. As a result, its rank on the index has enhanced from ninety-fourth to sixtieth during the same time period.

Meanwhile, India – which was ranked at seventy-seventh place during summer – fell to eighty-fifth place in October following the loss to two countries.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

A former Indian ambassador says multiple elements that affect the strength of a country's passport, like its economic and political stability plus its receptiveness to accepting travelers from abroad.

For example, the US passport has dropped out from the top ten and now occupies the 12th position – a historic low – because of its increasingly insular stance in global affairs.

The diplomat mentioned how in the 1970s, Indian citizens had visa-free access to numerous European and Western nations, though this shifted following Khalistan movement in the 1980s. Subsequent political upheavals have further chipped away at India's image as a stable, democratic country.

"Many countries are growing increasingly wary regarding migrants," the diplomat added. "The country possesses a high number of citizens emigrating overseas or overstaying their visas and that interferes with the country's reputation."

Factors such as the security level of a national passport and its immigration procedures also contribute to obtaining visa-free access to foreign nations.

Enhanced Security Measures

The Indian passport remains vulnerable to security threats. Last year, authorities arrested over two hundred individuals for suspected passport and visa irregularities. India is also known for complex immigration processes with lengthy timelines for visa approvals.

The diplomat indicated that technological advances, like India's recently-launched digital passport or e-passport, can improve security and streamline immigration. The e-passport includes a small chip holding biometric information, increasing difficulty to counterfeit or alter the document.

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