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Earlier this year, an online clip from an Indian travel influencer complaining about India's weak passport gained massive traction across digital platforms.

He mentioned although nearby nations such as Bhutan and Sri Lanka offered easier access to Indian tourists, obtaining visas 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 India at position eighty-five out of nearly two hundred nations, a decline of five positions than last year.

Officials in India have not issued a statement on the report yet.

Nations like Rwanda, Ghana and Azerbaijan with much smaller economies compared to India – which is the fifth-largest economy globally – are ranked higher in the ranking in the seventies range, in that order.

Actually, the country's position over the last ten years has remained around the eighties, falling to ninetieth place in 2021. These rankings are dismal when measured against Asian nations like Japan, South Korea and Singapore, all maintaining top positions.

What Passport Strength Indicates

Passport strength reflects a country's global influence and international standing. It also translates into enhanced travel freedom for its citizens, boosting business and educational prospects. Limited passport power means more paperwork, increased visa expenses, fewer travel privileges and extended processing periods when journeying.

However, even with the drop in position, the number of countries providing visa-free travel to Indians has actually increased in the past decade or so.

As an instance, in 2014 – when the current administration's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power – 52 countries offered visa-free travel to Indians with the passport ranked 76th in the ranking.

The following year, it fell to eighty-fifth place, then improved to 80th over the past two years, declining once more to the 85th position this year. Meanwhile, countries allowing visa-free travel to Indian citizens grew from 52 in 2015 to 60 in 2023 and sixty-two this year.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The number of visa-free destinations this year (fifty-seven) exceeds the number eight years ago (fifty-two), yet the country's position for both these years is 85. So, why is that?

Experts say that a primary factor is the increasingly competitive landscape in international travel – meaning nations are forming additional travel agreements to benefit their citizens and economic growth. As per a 2025 report, the worldwide mean number of destinations people can visit without visas has almost doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to one hundred nine currently.

As an illustration, China has increased the number of visa-free destinations available to its citizens from 50 to 82 in the past decade. As a result, its rank in the ranking has improved from ninety-fourth to sixtieth in that same duration.

Meanwhile, The Indian passport – previously positioned 77th on the index in July – dropped to eighty-fifth place this autumn after losing access of two nations.

Other Influences Impacting Passport Power

A former Indian ambassador says multiple elements that affect a nation's passport power, including economic and political conditions as well as its openness to welcoming citizens from abroad.

For instance, the American passport has dropped out from the top ten and now occupies the 12th position – its lowest ever – due to its increasingly insular stance in world politics.

The former ambassador recalls how in the 1970s, Indians enjoyed visa-free access to many Western and European countries, but that changed following Sikh separatist movement in the 1980s. Subsequent political upheavals have continued to damage the country's reputation as a stable, democratic country.

"Numerous nations are also becoming more cautious of immigrants," the diplomat added. "The country possesses a large quantity of people migrating overseas or overstaying their visas and that interferes with the national image."

Factors like how secure of a national passport and its immigration procedures also play a role in gaining visa-free entry to foreign nations.

Security and Technological Improvements

India's passport remains vulnerable to security risks. In 2024, law enforcement arrested over two hundred individuals for alleged passport and visa irregularities. India is also known for cumbersome immigration procedures and a slow pace of visa processing.

The diplomat says that technological advances, such as the newly introduced digital passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and streamline immigration. The e-passport contains a small chip holding biometric information, making it harder to counterfeit or alter the document.

However, more diplomatic outreach and travel partnerships continue essential for enhancing the global mobility for Indian citizens and, by extension, India's passport ranking.