🔗 Share this article

Earlier this year, an online clip from an Indian travel influencer expressing frustration over India's weak passport went viral across digital platforms.

The influencer stated that while neighbouring countries such as Bhutan and Sri Lanka were more welcoming to Indian tourists, securing travel permits to travel to many nations in Europe and the West continued to be difficult.

Such concerns with the limited global access of Indian passports found confirmation in the latest global passport ranking, ranking India at position eighty-five among 199 countries, five spots lower than last year.

The Indian government has not commented regarding these findings so far.

Countries including Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan with much smaller economies compared to India – a nation that 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 over the last ten years has hovered around the eighties, falling to ninetieth place in 2021. Such standings appear poor compared to other Asian countries like Japan, South Korea and Singapore, all maintaining leading ranks.

Global Passport Power Measures

Passport strength indicates a nation's soft power and international standing. This leads to enhanced travel freedom for passport holders, improving commercial and learning opportunities. A weak passport results in more paperwork, increased visa expenses, fewer travel privileges and extended processing periods for travel.

But despite the decline in the rank, the count of nations providing visa-free travel for Indian citizens has actually increased in the past decade or so.

As an instance, in 2014 – the year the current administration's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) assumed office – 52 countries offered visa-free travel for Indian passport holders and its passport ranked 76th in the ranking.

The following year, it tumbled to eighty-fifth place, then rose to 80th over the past two years, declining once more to the eighty-fifth spot currently. Meanwhile, countries allowing visa-free travel for Indians increased from 52 in 2015 to 60 in 2023 and 62 in 2024.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The number of visa-free destinations this year (fifty-seven) exceeds the number eight years ago (52), but India's rank during both periods is 85. So, why is that?

Experts say that a major reason is the increasingly competitive landscape in international travel – indicating that countries are entering into additional travel agreements for their populations' advantage and economic growth. According to a 2025 report, the global average count of countries travellers are able to access visa-free has nearly doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to one hundred nine currently.

As an illustration, The Chinese passport has expanded its count of visa-free destinations its citizens can travel to from 50 to 82 in the past decade. As a result, its rank in the ranking has improved from ninety-fourth to sixtieth during the same time period.

Meanwhile, India – which was ranked at seventy-seventh place in July – fell to eighty-fifth place 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 its economic and political stability plus its openness to accepting travelers from abroad.

For example, the US passport has fallen from the top ten and now occupies twelfth place – its lowest ever – due to its more inward-looking approach in global affairs.

The former ambassador recalls how in the 1970s, Indian citizens had visa-free travel to numerous European and Western nations, though this shifted following Sikh separatist movement in the 1980s. Later political disturbances have further chipped away the country's reputation as a stable, democratic country.

"Many countries are also becoming more cautious regarding migrants," the diplomat added. "India has a large quantity of citizens emigrating to other countries or remaining beyond visa limits affecting the national image."

Factors such as the security level of a national passport and immigration processes also play a role to obtaining visa-free access to other countries.

Security and Technological Improvements

The Indian passport faces ongoing security threats. In 2024, authorities arrested over two hundred individuals for alleged passport and visa irregularities. India is also known for complex immigration processes and a slow pace of visa processing.

The diplomat indicated that new technologies, such as the newly introduced digital passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and streamline immigration. This electronic document includes a microchip holding biometric data, increasing difficulty to counterfeit or alter the document.

But, increased diplomatic efforts and travel agreements continue essential to boosting the global mobility for Indian citizens and consequently, India's passport ranking.