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In recent months, a video by a popular travel content creator expressing frustration over India's weak passport gained massive traction on social media.

He mentioned that while neighbouring countries such as Sri Lanka and Bhutan offered easier access of Indian tourists, securing travel permits for visiting 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 in the 85th spot among 199 countries, five spots lower than last year.

Officials in India has not commented regarding these findings yet.

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

In fact, India's rank over the last ten years has hovered around the eighties, even dipping to the 90th spot in 2021. Such standings are dismal compared to other Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore, all maintaining leading ranks.

What Passport Strength Indicates

The power of a passport reflects a nation's soft power and international standing. This leads to better mobility for its citizens, boosting business and learning opportunities. Limited passport power results in additional documentation, increased visa expenses, reduced travel benefits and longer waiting times for travel.

However, even with the decline in the rank, the number of countries offering visa-free access to Indians has grown over the last ten years.

As an instance, eight years ago – when the current administration's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power – fifty-two nations offered visa-free access to Indians and its passport at seventy-sixth position on the index.

The following year, it fell to the 85th position, then improved to eightieth over the past two years, dropping again to the 85th position this year. At the same time, countries allowing visa-free travel for Indians grew from 52 in 2015 to sixty last year and 62 in 2024.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The number of nations allowing visa-free entry in 2025 (fifty-seven) is higher than the number eight years ago (fifty-two), yet the country's position for both these years remains at eighty-fifth. So, why is that?

Analysts note that a primary factor is the increasingly competitive landscape in international travel – indicating that countries are forming more travel partnerships to benefit their citizens and their economies. As per recent analysis, the global average number of destinations travellers are able to access visa-free has nearly doubled from 58 in 2006 to one hundred nine currently.

For example, China has expanded the number of visa-free destinations its citizens can travel to from fifty to eighty-two in the past decade. Consequently, its rank on the index has enhanced from 94th to 60th in that same duration.

Meanwhile, The Indian passport – previously positioned at seventy-seventh place in July – fell to eighty-fifth place in October after losing access of two nations.

Other Influences Impacting Passport Power

A former Indian ambassador notes multiple elements that affect the strength of a country's passport, including economic and political conditions plus its openness to welcoming citizens from other countries.

For instance, the American passport has fallen of the top 10 currently holding twelfth place – a historic low – because of its increasingly insular stance in global affairs.

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

"Many countries are also becoming more cautious regarding migrants," he stated. "The country possesses a large quantity of people migrating to other countries or overstaying their visas affecting the country's reputation."

Elements like how secure a country's passport is and immigration processes also play a role to obtaining visa-free entry to foreign nations.

Enhanced Security Measures

The Indian passport faces ongoing security risks. Last year, authorities arrested 203 people for alleged passport and visa irregularities. India is also known for complex immigration processes with lengthy timelines of visa processing.

The former ambassador says that technological advances, like India's recently-launched electronic passport or e-passport, can improve security and ease the immigration process. This electronic document contains a small chip holding biometric data, making it harder to forge or tamper with 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.