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In recent months, an online clip from an Indian travel influencer complaining about the limited power of the Indian passport went viral on social media.

The influencer stated although neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka and Bhutan offered easier access of travelers from India, obtaining visas to travel to most Western and European countries continued to be difficult.

Such concerns with India's poor passport strength was reflected in the latest global passport ranking, ranking India at position eighty-five among nearly two hundred nations, five spots lower than last year.

Officials in India has not commented on the report so far.

Countries like Rwanda, Ghana and Azerbaijan with much smaller economies compared to India – which is the world's fifth biggest economy – hold better positions in the ranking at the 78th, 74th and 72nd spots, respectively.

In fact, India's rank over the last ten years has remained around the eighties, falling to the 90th spot two years ago. These rankings are dismal compared to other Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore, which have consistently held leading ranks.

What Passport Strength Indicates

The power of a passport reflects a country's global influence and international standing. This leads to better mobility for passport holders, improving commercial and learning opportunities. A weak passport results in additional documentation, higher visa costs, reduced travel benefits and extended processing periods for travel.

But despite the decline in the rank, the count of nations providing visa-free travel for Indian citizens has grown over the last ten years.

For example, eight years ago – the year the current administration's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power – 52 countries offered visa-free access to Indians with the passport at seventy-sixth position on the index.

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. At the same time, visa-free destinations for Indians increased from 52 in 2015 to 60 in 2023 and sixty-two this year.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The count of visa-free destinations in 2025 (fifty-seven) is higher than what it was in 2015 (fifty-two), but the country's position during both periods remains at eighty-fifth. What explains this situation?

Analysts note that a primary factor involves growing competition in international travel – indicating that countries are forming additional travel agreements for their populations' advantage and economic growth. As per recent analysis, the global average number of destinations people can visit visa-free has nearly doubled from 58 in 2006 to one hundred nine currently.

For example, The Chinese passport has increased its count of visa-free countries available to its citizens from fifty to eighty-two over the last ten years. As a result, its rank in the ranking has improved from 94th to 60th in that same duration.

In comparison, The Indian passport – previously positioned 77th on the index in July – fell to eighty-fifth place in October following the loss to two countries.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

An ex-diplomat from India notes multiple elements that affect the strength of a country's passport, like its economic and political stability as well as its openness to accepting travelers from other countries.

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

The former ambassador mentioned how in the 1970s, Indian citizens had visa-free access to numerous European and Western nations, 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 increasingly wary of immigrants," the diplomat added. "The country possesses a large quantity of people migrating to other countries or overstaying their visas and that interferes with the country's reputation."

Elements like the security level of a national passport and its immigration procedures also contribute to obtaining visa-free access to other countries.

Enhanced Security Measures

India's passport remains vulnerable to security threats. In 2024, authorities detained 203 people for alleged visa and passport fraud. The country also has cumbersome immigration procedures and a slow pace of visa processing.

The former ambassador indicated that new technologies, such as the newly introduced digital passport or e-passport, can improve security and streamline immigration. This electronic document includes a small chip holding biometric information, making it harder to counterfeit or alter the document.

But, more diplomatic outreach and travel partnerships continue essential to boosting international travel freedom for Indian citizens and, by extension, the Indian passport's global position.