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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.

The influencer stated although neighbouring countries such as Bhutan and Sri Lanka offered easier access to Indian tourists, securing travel permits to travel to most Western and European countries remained a challenge.

This dissatisfaction with the limited global access of Indian passports found confirmation in the latest global passport ranking, which placed India at position eighty-five among 199 countries, a decline of five positions compared to the previous year.

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

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

Actually, India's rank over the last ten years has remained in the 80s, even dipping to the 90th spot two years ago. These rankings are dismal when measured against other Asian countries like Singapore, Japan and South Korea, all maintaining leading ranks.

What Passport Strength Measures

The power of a passport reflects a country's global influence and global influence. This leads to better mobility for its citizens, improving commercial and learning opportunities. A weak passport means more paperwork, higher visa costs, fewer travel privileges and extended processing periods when journeying.

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

As an instance, in 2014 – the year the current administration's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power – 52 countries provided visa-free travel for Indian passport holders with the passport at seventy-sixth position on the index.

A year later, it fell to eighty-fifth place, then improved to 80th over the past two years, declining once more to the eighty-fifth spot currently. At the same time, countries allowing visa-free travel for Indians increased from fifty-two eight years ago to 60 in 2023 and 62 in 2024.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The count of nations allowing visa-free entry in 2025 (fifty-seven) is higher than the number in 2015 (fifty-two), yet the country's position during both periods remains at eighty-fifth. What explains this situation?

Analysts note that a major reason involves growing competition in global mobility – indicating that countries are forming more travel partnerships for their populations' advantage and economic growth. As per a 2025 report, the global average number of destinations people can visit without visas has almost doubled from 58 in 2006 to one hundred nine currently.

As an illustration, The Chinese passport has increased its count of visa-free destinations its citizens can travel to from fifty to eighty-two over the last ten years. As a result, its rank on the index has enhanced from ninety-fourth to sixtieth during the same time period.

In comparison, The Indian passport – which was ranked 77th on the index in July – fell to eighty-fifth place this autumn following the loss of two nations.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

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

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

The former ambassador recalls how in the 1970s, Indians enjoyed visa-free travel to many Western and European countries, but that changed following Sikh separatist movement during the eighties. Subsequent political upheavals have continued to damage at India's image as a stable, democratic country.

"Numerous nations are also becoming increasingly wary of immigrants," he stated. "The country possesses a high number of citizens emigrating to other countries or remaining beyond visa limits and that interferes with the country's reputation."

Elements like how secure of a national passport and its immigration procedures also play a role in gaining visa-free access to other countries.

Security and Technological Improvements

India's passport faces ongoing security risks. In 2024, authorities arrested over two hundred individuals for alleged passport and visa irregularities. The country also has complex immigration processes and a slow pace of visa processing.

The former ambassador indicated that technological advances, like India's recently-launched digital passport or e-passport, can improve security and ease the immigration process. The e-passport includes a microchip holding biometric data, increasing difficulty to counterfeit or alter the document.

But, more diplomatic outreach and travel agreements remain key for enhancing international travel freedom for Indian citizens and, by extension, India's passport ranking.