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In recent months, an online clip by an Indian travel influencer expressing frustration over India's weak passport gained massive traction on social media.

He mentioned although neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka and Bhutan offered easier access to Indian tourists, obtaining visas for visiting most Western and European countries remained a challenge.

This dissatisfaction regarding India's poor passport strength was reflected in recent global passport ranking, ranking India in the 85th spot out of 199 countries, five spots lower compared to the previous year.

Officials in India has not commented on the report yet.

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

Actually, India's rank in the past decade has remained around the eighties, falling to the 90th spot two years ago. These rankings appear poor when measured against other Asian countries like Singapore, Japan and South Korea, all maintaining leading ranks.

What Passport Strength Indicates

The power of a passport reflects a nation's soft power and international standing. It also translates into enhanced travel freedom for its citizens, boosting business and learning opportunities. Limited passport power means additional documentation, increased visa expenses, reduced travel benefits and longer waiting times for travel.

However, even with the decline in the rank, the count of nations offering visa-free access to Indians has actually increased over the last ten years.

As an instance, in 2014 – when Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power – fifty-two nations offered visa-free access for Indian passport holders with the passport ranked 76th in the ranking.

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, visa-free destinations to Indian citizens grew from 52 in 2015 to 60 in 2023 and 62 in 2024.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The count of nations allowing visa-free entry in 2025 (fifty-seven) is higher than the number in 2015 (fifty-two), but India's rank for both these years remains at eighty-fifth. So, why is that?

Experts say that a major reason is the increasingly competitive landscape in global mobility – meaning nations are forming additional travel agreements for their populations' advantage and their economies. As per recent analysis, the global average number of destinations people can visit visa-free has almost doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to one hundred nine currently.

For example, The Chinese passport has expanded the number of visa-free countries its citizens can travel to from fifty to eighty-two in the past decade. As a result, its rank in the ranking has enhanced from ninety-fourth to sixtieth in that same duration.

Meanwhile, The Indian passport – previously positioned 77th on the index in July – fell to the 85th position in October after losing access to two countries.

Additional Factors Affecting Passport Strength

A former Indian ambassador notes there are other factors influencing a nation's passport power, like economic and political conditions as well as its openness to accepting travelers from other countries.

For example, the American passport has dropped out from the top ten currently holding the 12th position – its lowest ever – due to its more inward-looking approach in global affairs.

The former ambassador mentioned that during the seventies, Indians enjoyed visa-free travel to many Western and European countries, though this shifted 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 growing more cautious regarding migrants," he stated. "India has a high number of people migrating overseas or remaining beyond visa limits affecting the country's reputation."

Factors like how secure a country's passport is and its immigration procedures also contribute in gaining visa-free access to foreign nations.

Enhanced Security Measures

The Indian passport remains vulnerable to security threats. In 2024, authorities arrested 203 people for alleged visa and passport fraud. India is also known for cumbersome immigration procedures and a slow pace for visa approvals.

The former ambassador says that new technologies, such as the newly introduced electronic passport or e-passport, can improve security and streamline immigration. The e-passport includes a microchip that stores biometric information, making it harder to counterfeit or alter the document.

However, more diplomatic outreach and travel agreements continue essential for enhancing international travel freedom for Indian citizens and consequently, the Indian passport's global position.