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Earlier this year, a video by a popular travel content creator expressing frustration over India's weak passport gained massive traction on social media.

The influencer stated that while neighbouring countries such as Sri Lanka and Bhutan offered easier access to travelers from India, securing travel permits for visiting most Western and European countries continued to be difficult.

Such concerns regarding the limited global access of Indian passports found confirmation in recent global passport ranking, which placed the country in the 85th spot among nearly two hundred nations, a decline of five positions than last year.

The Indian government have not issued a statement regarding these findings yet.

Countries including Rwanda, Ghana and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size than India – a nation that is the fifth-largest economy globally – hold better positions on the index in the seventies range, in that order.

Actually, the country's position in the past decade has hovered in the 80s, falling to ninetieth place in 2021. Such standings are dismal compared to other Asian countries like Japan, South Korea and Singapore, all maintaining leading ranks.

Global Passport Power Measures

The power of a passport indicates a nation's soft power and global influence. It also translates into enhanced travel freedom for its citizens, boosting business and educational prospects. A weak passport means additional documentation, increased visa expenses, fewer travel privileges and longer waiting times for travel.

But despite the drop in position, the number of countries offering visa-free access to Indians has actually increased over the last ten years.

For example, in 2014 – when the current administration's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) assumed office – fifty-two nations provided visa-free travel to Indians and its passport at seventy-sixth position on the index.

The following year, it tumbled to the 85th position, then improved to 80th over the past two years, declining once more to the 85th position this year. At the same time, visa-free destinations for Indians increased from 52 in 2015 to 60 in 2023 and sixty-two this year.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The number of visa-free destinations this year (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?

Experts say that a major reason involves growing competition in international travel – meaning countries are forming more travel partnerships to benefit their citizens and their economies. As per a 2025 report, the global average count of countries travellers are able to access without visas has almost doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to one hundred nine currently.

As an illustration, China has expanded its count of visa-free destinations available to its citizens from fifty to eighty-two in the past decade. As a result, its rank in the ranking has enhanced from ninety-fourth to sixtieth in that same duration.

In comparison, The Indian passport – previously positioned at seventy-seventh place during summer – fell to the 85th position this autumn after losing access to two countries.

Other Influences Affecting Passport Strength

An ex-diplomat from India notes multiple elements that affect a nation's passport power, like economic and political conditions as well as its openness to welcoming citizens from other countries.

For instance, the US passport has fallen from the top ten and now occupies the 12th position – a historic low – due to its increasingly insular stance in global affairs.

The diplomat mentioned that during the seventies, Indian citizens had visa-free access to many Western and European countries, though this shifted following Sikh separatist movement in the 1980s. Subsequent political upheavals have continued to damage at India's image as a stable democracy.

"Numerous nations are also becoming increasingly wary regarding migrants," he stated. "The country possesses a large quantity of citizens emigrating to other countries or remaining beyond visa limits affecting 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 foreign nations.

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 cumbersome immigration procedures with lengthy timelines of visa processing.

The former ambassador says that technological advances, such as the newly introduced digital passport or e-passport, can improve security and ease the immigration process. The e-passport includes a microchip that stores biometric data, increasing difficulty to forge or tamper with the document.

However, increased diplomatic efforts and travel partnerships remain key for enhancing the global mobility for Indian citizens and, by extension, India's passport ranking.