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Earlier this year, a video by a popular travel content creator expressing frustration over the limited power of the Indian passport gained massive traction across digital platforms.

The influencer stated although neighbouring countries like Bhutan and Sri Lanka were more welcoming of travelers from India, obtaining visas for visiting many nations in Europe and the West continued to be difficult.

Such concerns with India's poor passport strength found confirmation in recent Henley Passport Index, which placed the country in the 85th spot among nearly two hundred nations, a decline of five positions compared to the previous year.

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

Countries like Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan with much smaller economies compared to India – which is the fifth-largest economy globally – hold better positions on the index in the seventies range, in that order.

In fact, the country's position in the past decade has hovered in the 80s, falling to ninetieth place two years ago. These rankings are dismal when measured against Asian nations like Singapore, Japan and South Korea, which have consistently held top positions.

Global Passport Power Indicates

The power of a passport indicates a country's global influence and global influence. It also translates into enhanced travel freedom for its citizens, boosting business and learning opportunities. A weak passport means additional documentation, increased visa expenses, fewer travel privileges and extended processing periods for travel.

But despite the drop in position, the number of countries offering visa-free access to Indians has actually increased in the past decade or so.

For example, eight years ago – the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power – fifty-two nations provided visa-free travel for Indian passport holders with the passport ranked 76th in the ranking.

The following year, it tumbled to eighty-fifth place, then improved to eightieth over the past two years, declining once more to the eighty-fifth spot this year. Meanwhile, 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 nations allowing visa-free entry this year (fifty-seven) is higher than the number eight years ago (fifty-two), but India's rank during both periods remains at eighty-fifth. What explains this situation?

Experts say that a major reason involves growing competition in global mobility – indicating that countries are forming more travel partnerships to benefit their citizens and their economies. According to a 2025 report, the global average number of destinations people can visit visa-free 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 countries 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 in that same duration.

Meanwhile, India – which was ranked 77th on the index during summer – fell to eighty-fifth place in October after losing access to two countries.

Other Influences Impacting Passport Power

An ex-diplomat from India says there are other factors that affect the strength of a country's passport, like its economic and political stability plus its openness to welcoming citizens from other countries.

For example, the American passport has dropped out from the top ten and now occupies the 12th position – its lowest ever – because of its more inward-looking approach in world politics.

The former ambassador mentioned how in the 1970s, Indian citizens had visa-free access to many Western and European countries, but that changed after the Khalistan movement in the 1980s. Subsequent political upheavals have continued to damage at India's image as a stable, democratic country.

"Many countries are also becoming increasingly wary of immigrants," the diplomat added. "India has a large quantity of people migrating overseas or overstaying their visas and that interferes with the country's reputation."

Elements such as the security level of a national passport and immigration processes also contribute to obtaining visa-free entry to foreign nations.

Enhanced Security Measures

The Indian passport remains vulnerable to security risks. In 2024, law enforcement detained over two hundred individuals for alleged passport and visa irregularities. The country also has complex immigration processes and a slow pace of visa processing.

The former ambassador says that technological advances, such as the newly introduced electronic passport or e-passport, can improve security and streamline immigration. This electronic document includes a small chip that stores biometric information, making it harder to forge or tamper with the passport.

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