🔗 Share this article

In recent months, an online clip by an Indian travel influencer expressing frustration over India's weak passport gained massive traction on social media.

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

Such concerns with the limited global access of Indian passports found confirmation in the latest Henley Passport Index, which placed the country in the 85th spot among 199 countries, five spots lower than last year.

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

Nations like Rwanda, Ghana and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size compared to India – which is the fifth-largest economy globally – hold better positions on the index in the seventies range, respectively.

Actually, the country's position over the last ten years has remained around the eighties, even dipping to ninetieth place two years ago. Such standings are dismal when measured against Asian nations like Singapore, Japan and South Korea, all maintaining leading ranks.

What Passport Strength Measures

Passport strength indicates a nation's soft power and global influence. This leads to enhanced travel freedom for passport holders, boosting business and educational prospects. Limited passport power means additional documentation, increased visa expenses, reduced travel benefits and longer waiting times when journeying.

But despite the decline in the rank, the number of countries offering visa-free access for Indian citizens has grown in the past decade or so.

As an instance, eight years ago – when 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 on the index.

The following year, it fell to eighty-fifth place, then improved to eightieth in 2023 and 2024, dropping again to the eighty-fifth spot currently. At the same time, countries allowing visa-free travel to Indian citizens increased from fifty-two eight years ago to 60 in 2023 and sixty-two this year.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The number of visa-free destinations in 2025 (57) is higher than what it was eight years ago (fifty-two), but the country's position for both these years is 85. What explains this situation?

Experts say that a primary factor involves growing competition in international travel – meaning countries are entering into additional travel agreements to benefit their citizens and their economies. As per recent analysis, the worldwide mean count of countries travellers are able to access without visas has almost doubled from 58 in 2006 to one hundred nine currently.

As an illustration, The Chinese passport has increased its count of visa-free countries available to its citizens from fifty to eighty-two in the past decade. Consequently, its position in the ranking has improved from 94th to 60th in that same duration.

Meanwhile, The Indian passport – which was ranked at seventy-seventh place in July – dropped to eighty-fifth place this autumn after losing access of two nations.

Other Influences Affecting Passport Strength

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

For instance, the US passport has dropped out from the top ten and now occupies the 12th position – a historic low – due to its more inward-looking approach in world politics.

The former ambassador mentioned that during the seventies, Indian citizens had visa-free travel to numerous European and Western nations, though this shifted following Sikh separatist movement during the eighties. Later political disturbances have continued to damage at India's image as a stable democracy.

"Numerous nations are also becoming more cautious regarding migrants," the diplomat added. "The country possesses a high number of citizens emigrating overseas or overstaying their visas affecting the country's reputation."

Factors like how secure of a national passport and immigration processes also play a role to obtaining visa-free access to other countries.

Enhanced Security Measures

The Indian passport remains vulnerable to security risks. In 2024, authorities detained 203 people for alleged passport and visa irregularities. India is also known for 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 ease the immigration process. The e-passport includes a microchip holding biometric information, increasing difficulty to counterfeit or alter the document.

However, increased diplomatic efforts and travel agreements continue essential to boosting international travel freedom for Indian citizens and consequently, India's passport ranking.