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Earlier this year, a video from a popular travel content creator expressing frustration over India's weak passport went viral on social media.

He mentioned that while nearby nations like Bhutan and Sri Lanka offered easier access to Indian tourists, securing travel permits for visiting many nations in Europe and the West continued to be difficult.

Such concerns with the limited global access of Indian passports found confirmation in recent global passport ranking, ranking the country in the 85th spot out of 199 countries, five spots lower compared to the previous year.

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

Nations like Rwanda, Ghana and Azerbaijan with much smaller economies compared to India – a nation that is the fifth-largest economy globally – hold better positions in the ranking at the 78th, 74th and 72nd spots, respectively.

Actually, India's rank in the past decade has remained in the 80s, falling to the 90th spot in 2021. Such standings appear poor when measured against Asian nations such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore, all maintaining top positions.

Global Passport Power Indicates

Passport strength indicates a nation's soft power and global influence. It also translates into better mobility for its citizens, boosting business and educational prospects. Limited passport power means more paperwork, increased visa expenses, reduced travel benefits and longer waiting times when journeying.

But despite the decline in the rank, the number of countries offering visa-free access for Indian citizens has grown in the past decade or so.

For example, eight years ago – the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party came to power – 52 countries provided visa-free travel to Indians with the passport at seventy-sixth position on the index.

The following year, it tumbled to the 85th position, then rose to eightieth over the past two years, dropping again to the eighty-fifth spot this year. At the same time, visa-free destinations 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 nations allowing visa-free entry in 2025 (57) is higher than what it was eight years ago (52), yet the country's position for both these years remains at eighty-fifth. What explains this situation?

Experts say that a primary factor involves growing competition in global mobility – indicating that countries are entering into additional travel agreements for their populations' advantage and economic growth. As per a 2025 report, the worldwide mean number of destinations people can visit without visas has nearly doubled from 58 in 2006 to 109 in 2025.

As an illustration, China has expanded its count of visa-free countries available to its citizens from fifty to eighty-two over the last ten years. Consequently, its rank on the index has enhanced from ninety-fourth to sixtieth in that same duration.

Meanwhile, India – which was ranked at seventy-seventh place during summer – fell to eighty-fifth place this autumn after losing access of two nations.

Other Influences Affecting Passport Strength

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 of the top 10 and now occupies twelfth place – a historic low – due to its more inward-looking approach in world politics.

The diplomat recalls that during the seventies, Indians enjoyed visa-free access to many Western and European countries, but that changed following Khalistan movement in the 1980s. Later political disturbances 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. "The country possesses a large quantity of people migrating to other countries or remaining beyond visa limits affecting the country's reputation."

Factors such as how secure a country's passport is and immigration processes also contribute to obtaining visa-free access to other countries.

Enhanced Security Measures

India's passport faces ongoing security threats. In 2024, law enforcement detained over two hundred individuals for alleged passport and visa irregularities. India is also known for cumbersome immigration procedures with lengthy timelines of visa processing.

The diplomat 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 microchip that stores biometric information, increasing difficulty to counterfeit or alter the passport.

But, increased diplomatic efforts and travel partnerships continue essential to boosting international travel freedom for Indian citizens and consequently, India's passport ranking.