🔗 Share this article

In recent months, an online clip by a popular travel content creator complaining about the limited power of the Indian passport gained massive traction on social media.

He mentioned although nearby nations such as Sri Lanka and Bhutan offered easier access of Indian tourists, securing travel permits for visiting most Western and European countries remained a challenge.

Such concerns with India's poor passport strength found confirmation in the latest global passport ranking, ranking India at position eighty-five among 199 countries, five spots lower than last year.

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

Nations like Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size than India – which is the world's fifth biggest economy – are ranked higher on the index at the 78th, 74th and 72nd spots, respectively.

In fact, the country's position in the past decade has hovered in the 80s, even dipping to the 90th spot two years ago. These rankings appear poor compared to other Asian countries like Japan, South Korea and Singapore, which have consistently held leading ranks.

What Passport Strength Indicates

The power of a passport reflects a country's global influence and international standing. This leads to better mobility for passport holders, boosting business and learning opportunities. A weak passport results in additional documentation, higher visa costs, 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 grown over the last ten years.

As an instance, in 2014 – the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power – 52 countries offered visa-free access to Indians with the passport at seventy-sixth position in the ranking.

A year later, it fell to the 85th position, then improved to eightieth in 2023 and 2024, declining once more to the eighty-fifth spot this year. At the same time, countries allowing visa-free travel to Indian citizens increased from 52 in 2015 to 60 in 2023 and 62 in 2024.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The number of visa-free destinations in 2025 (fifty-seven) is higher than the number eight years ago (52), but India's rank for both these years is 85. So, why is that?

Experts say that a major reason involves growing competition in global mobility – indicating that countries are forming additional travel agreements for their populations' advantage and economic growth. As per a 2025 report, the global average number of destinations travellers are able to access visa-free has almost doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to 109 in 2025.

As an illustration, China has expanded its count of visa-free countries available to its citizens from 50 to 82 in the past decade. Consequently, its rank on the index has enhanced from ninety-fourth to sixtieth in that same duration.

In comparison, The Indian passport – which was ranked 77th on the index in July – dropped to the 85th position this autumn following the loss of two nations.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

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

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 former ambassador recalls that during the seventies, Indian citizens had visa-free travel to numerous European and Western nations, but that changed following Sikh separatist movement in the 1980s. Later political disturbances have continued to damage the country's reputation as a stable democracy.

"Many countries are also becoming increasingly wary regarding migrants," he stated. "The country possesses a high number of citizens emigrating overseas or overstaying their visas and that interferes with the national image."

Elements like how secure of a national passport and immigration processes also play a role in gaining visa-free access to foreign nations.

Enhanced Security Measures

The Indian passport faces ongoing security threats. In 2024, authorities arrested over two hundred individuals for suspected visa and passport fraud. India is also known for complex immigration processes with lengthy timelines of visa processing.

The diplomat indicated that new technologies, like India's recently-launched electronic passport or e-passport, can improve security and streamline immigration. The e-passport contains a small chip holding biometric data, making it harder to forge or tamper with the document.

But, increased diplomatic efforts and travel agreements continue essential for enhancing the global mobility for Indian citizens and, by extension, the Indian passport's global position.