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Earlier this year, a video from an Indian travel influencer complaining about India's weak passport went viral across digital platforms.

The influencer stated that while neighbouring countries such as Sri Lanka and Bhutan offered easier access to travelers from India, obtaining visas to travel to many nations in Europe and the West remained a challenge.

This dissatisfaction with India's poor passport strength was reflected in the latest global passport ranking, which placed the country at position eighty-five out of nearly two hundred nations, a decline of five positions than last year.

The Indian government have not issued a statement regarding these findings so far.

Nations like Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size compared to India – which is the fifth-largest economy globally – are ranked higher on the index in the seventies range, respectively.

In fact, India's rank over the last ten years has remained in the 80s, even dipping to the 90th spot in 2021. These rankings are dismal compared to other Asian countries such as Singapore, Japan and South Korea, all maintaining top positions.

What Passport Strength Indicates

The power of a passport reflects a country's global influence and global influence. It also translates into enhanced travel freedom for its citizens, improving commercial and educational prospects. Limited passport power means additional documentation, higher visa costs, reduced travel benefits and longer waiting times when journeying.

But despite the drop in position, the number of countries providing visa-free travel for Indian citizens has grown in the past decade or so.

As an instance, in 2014 – when the current administration's ruling party assumed office – 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 rose to 80th in 2023 and 2024, dropping again to the eighty-fifth spot this year. At the same time, visa-free destinations for Indians increased from fifty-two eight years ago to sixty last year 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 in 2015 (52), but 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 international travel – meaning nations are entering into more travel partnerships to benefit their citizens and their economies. As per a 2025 report, the worldwide mean number of destinations people can visit without visas has nearly doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to 109 in 2025.

As an illustration, The Chinese passport has expanded its count of visa-free countries its citizens can travel to from fifty to eighty-two in the past decade. As a result, its position on the index has improved from 94th to 60th in that same duration.

In comparison, The Indian passport – which was ranked at seventy-seventh place during summer – fell to eighty-fifth place this autumn after losing access to two countries.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

A former Indian ambassador says there are other factors that affect a nation's passport power, like its economic and political stability as well as its openness to welcoming citizens from abroad.

For instance, the American passport has fallen of the top 10 currently holding twelfth place – its lowest ever – due to its more inward-looking approach in world politics.

The former ambassador mentioned that during the seventies, Indian citizens had visa-free travel to numerous European and Western nations, but that changed following Khalistan movement in the 1980s. Later political disturbances have continued to damage the country's reputation as a stable democracy.

"Many countries are growing more cautious regarding migrants," he stated. "The country possesses a large quantity of citizens emigrating to other countries or remaining beyond visa limits and that interferes with the national image."

Factors such as the security level a country's passport is and its immigration procedures also contribute in gaining visa-free entry to foreign nations.

Enhanced Security Measures

India's passport remains vulnerable to security threats. In 2024, authorities detained over two hundred individuals for suspected visa and passport fraud. The country also has complex immigration processes and a slow pace of visa processing.

The former ambassador indicated that technological advances, such as the newly introduced electronic passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and ease the immigration process. This electronic document contains a small chip that stores biometric data, increasing difficulty to forge or tamper with the document.

But, increased diplomatic efforts and travel partnerships remain key for enhancing international travel freedom for Indian citizens and consequently, the Indian passport's global position.