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Earlier this year, a video by an Indian travel influencer complaining about the limited power of the Indian passport went viral on social media.

He mentioned although neighbouring countries like Bhutan and Sri Lanka offered easier access of travelers from India, securing travel permits to travel to many nations in Europe and the West continued to be difficult.

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

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

Nations like Rwanda, Ghana and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size than India – which is the world's fifth biggest economy – hold better positions in the ranking at the 78th, 74th and 72nd spots, in that order.

In fact, India's rank in the past decade has hovered in the 80s, even dipping to the 90th spot in 2021. These rankings are dismal when measured against Asian nations like Singapore, Japan and South Korea, all maintaining leading ranks.

Global Passport Power Measures

The power of a passport indicates a country's global influence and international standing. It also translates into enhanced travel freedom for its citizens, boosting business and educational prospects. A weak passport means more paperwork, increased visa expenses, fewer travel privileges and longer waiting times for travel.

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.

For example, in 2014 – the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) assumed office – fifty-two nations provided visa-free travel for Indian passport holders and its passport ranked 76th on the index.

A year later, it tumbled to eighty-fifth place, then improved to 80th in 2023 and 2024, dropping again to the eighty-fifth spot this year. At the same time, countries allowing visa-free travel for Indians increased from 52 in 2015 to sixty last year and sixty-two this year.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The count of nations allowing visa-free entry in 2025 (57) exceeds the number in 2015 (52), yet the country's position for both these years remains at eighty-fifth. What explains this situation?

Analysts note that a primary factor involves growing competition in international travel – meaning countries are entering into additional travel agreements for their populations' advantage 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 109 in 2025.

For example, The Chinese passport has increased the number of visa-free countries its citizens can travel to from fifty to eighty-two in the past decade. Consequently, its position on the index has enhanced from 94th to 60th during the same time period.

In comparison, India – previously positioned 77th on the index in July – fell to eighty-fifth place in October after losing access of two nations.

Additional Factors Affecting Passport Strength

An ex-diplomat from India notes multiple elements that affect the strength of a country's passport, including economic and political conditions plus its openness to accepting travelers from abroad.

For instance, the American passport has fallen of the top 10 currently holding the 12th position – its lowest ever – because of its more inward-looking approach in global affairs.

The former ambassador recalls that during the seventies, Indian citizens had visa-free travel to numerous European and Western nations, though this shifted following Sikh separatist movement in the 1980s. Later political disturbances have further chipped away at India's image as a stable democracy.

"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 and that interferes with the national image."

Factors such as how secure a country's passport is and immigration processes also play a role in gaining visa-free entry to other countries.

Enhanced Security Measures

India's passport remains vulnerable to security threats. In 2024, law enforcement detained over two hundred individuals for suspected visa and passport fraud. The country also has complex immigration processes with lengthy timelines for visa approvals.

The diplomat says that technological advances, such as the newly introduced digital passport or e-passport, can improve security and streamline immigration. The e-passport includes a small chip that stores biometric data, increasing difficulty to counterfeit or alter the document.

But, more diplomatic outreach and travel agreements continue essential for enhancing the global mobility of Indians and, by extension, India's passport ranking.