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In recent months, an online clip by a popular travel content creator expressing frustration over the limited power of the Indian passport went viral on social media.

The influencer stated that while nearby nations like Sri Lanka and Bhutan were more welcoming of Indian tourists, securing travel permits for visiting many nations in Europe and the West continued to be difficult.

This dissatisfaction regarding India's poor passport strength found confirmation in the latest global passport ranking, ranking India in the 85th spot out of nearly two hundred nations, a decline of five positions compared to the previous year.

Officials in India has not commented on the report yet.

Countries like Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size than India – a nation that is the fifth-largest economy globally – are ranked higher in the ranking at the 78th, 74th and 72nd spots, respectively.

Actually, India's rank over the last ten years has hovered in the 80s, falling to ninetieth place in 2021. These rankings are dismal when measured against Asian nations such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore, which have consistently held top positions.

What Passport Strength Indicates

Passport strength indicates a nation's soft power and international standing. This leads to better mobility for passport holders, improving commercial and educational prospects. A weak passport means additional documentation, increased visa expenses, fewer travel privileges and longer waiting times when journeying.

However, even with the decline in the rank, the count of nations providing visa-free travel to Indians has grown in the past decade or so.

As an instance, in 2014 – the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) assumed office – fifty-two nations offered visa-free access to Indians with the passport at seventy-sixth position on the index.

A year later, it tumbled to eighty-fifth place, then rose to eightieth in 2023 and 2024, declining once more to the eighty-fifth spot currently. At the same time, visa-free destinations for Indians grew from fifty-two eight years ago to sixty last year and 62 in 2024.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The count of visa-free destinations in 2025 (57) is higher than the number in 2015 (fifty-two), but the country's position for both these years is 85. So, why is that?

Experts say that a major reason involves growing competition in international travel – indicating that nations are forming additional travel agreements to benefit their citizens and economic growth. According to recent analysis, the global average number of destinations people can visit without visas has almost doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to one hundred nine currently.

For example, The Chinese passport has expanded its count of visa-free destinations available to its citizens from 50 to 82 in the past decade. As a result, its rank in the ranking has improved from ninety-fourth to sixtieth in that same duration.

In comparison, India – which was ranked at seventy-seventh place during summer – dropped to the 85th position in October after losing access of two nations.

Other Influences Affecting Passport Strength

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

For instance, the American passport has dropped out of the top 10 and now occupies the 12th position – a historic low – because of its increasingly insular stance in global affairs.

The former ambassador recalls that during the seventies, Indians enjoyed visa-free travel to numerous European and Western nations, though this shifted after the Sikh separatist 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 more cautious regarding migrants," he stated. "The country possesses a high number of citizens emigrating to other countries or overstaying their visas affecting the national image."

Factors like the security level of a national passport and its immigration procedures also play a role in gaining visa-free access to foreign nations.

Enhanced Security Measures

India's passport faces ongoing security threats. In 2024, authorities arrested 203 people for alleged passport and visa irregularities. The country also has cumbersome immigration procedures with lengthy timelines of visa processing.

The diplomat indicated that new technologies, such as the newly introduced digital passport or e-passport, can improve security and streamline immigration. This electronic document contains a small chip that stores biometric information, increasing difficulty to counterfeit or alter the passport.

But, increased diplomatic efforts and travel partnerships continue essential to boosting the global mobility of Indians and consequently, the Indian passport's global position.