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Earlier this year, an online clip by a popular travel content creator complaining about India's weak passport gained massive traction across digital platforms.

He mentioned although neighbouring countries such as Sri Lanka and Bhutan were more welcoming to travelers from India, securing travel permits for visiting many nations in Europe and the West continued to be difficult.

Such concerns with the limited global access of Indian passports was reflected in recent Henley Passport Index, ranking the country in the 85th spot out of nearly two hundred nations, five spots lower compared to the previous year.

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

Countries including Rwanda, Ghana and Azerbaijan with much smaller economies compared to India – which is the world's fifth biggest economy – hold better positions on the index at the 78th, 74th and 72nd spots, respectively.

In fact, India's rank over the last ten years has remained in the 80s, falling to the 90th spot in 2021. Such standings are dismal 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 country's global influence and international standing. It also translates into better mobility for its citizens, boosting business and educational prospects. A weak passport results in more paperwork, increased visa expenses, reduced travel benefits and longer waiting times when journeying.

However, even with the decline in the rank, the count of nations offering visa-free access for Indian citizens has grown in the past decade or so.

For example, eight years ago – when the current administration's ruling party assumed office – 52 countries offered visa-free travel to Indians with the passport at seventy-sixth position in the ranking.

A year later, it fell to eighty-fifth place, then rose to eightieth in 2023 and 2024, declining once more to the 85th position this year. At the same time, visa-free destinations to Indian citizens increased from fifty-two eight years ago to sixty last year and 62 in 2024.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The number of nations allowing visa-free entry this year (fifty-seven) exceeds the number in 2015 (52), yet India's rank for both these years remains at eighty-fifth. What explains this situation?

Analysts note that a primary factor involves growing competition in international travel – meaning countries are entering into additional travel agreements for their populations' advantage and economic growth. As per recent analysis, the global average count of countries travellers are able to access visa-free has almost doubled from 58 in 2006 to 109 in 2025.

As an illustration, The Chinese passport has expanded the number of visa-free destinations its citizens can travel to from 50 to 82 in the past decade. As a result, its position on the index has enhanced from 94th to 60th during the same time period.

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

Other Influences Impacting Passport Power

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

For example, the American passport has dropped out of the top 10 and now occupies twelfth place – a historic low – because of its increasingly insular stance in global affairs.

The diplomat mentioned that during the seventies, Indian citizens had visa-free travel to many Western and European countries, but that changed following Sikh separatist movement during the eighties. Subsequent political upheavals have continued to damage at India's image as a stable democracy.

"Numerous nations are growing increasingly wary of immigrants," he stated. "India has a large quantity of citizens emigrating overseas or remaining beyond visa limits and that interferes with the country's reputation."

Elements such as how secure a country's passport is and immigration processes also play a role to obtaining visa-free entry to other countries.

Enhanced Security Measures

India's passport remains vulnerable to security threats. Last year, authorities arrested 203 people for suspected visa and passport fraud. India is also known for complex immigration processes with lengthy timelines for visa approvals.

The former ambassador says that new technologies, such as the newly introduced digital passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and ease the immigration process. This electronic document contains a small chip that stores biometric data, increasing difficulty to counterfeit or alter the passport.

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