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Earlier this year, a video by a popular travel content creator complaining about India's weak passport went viral on social media.

He mentioned although neighbouring countries such as Sri Lanka and Bhutan were more welcoming to travelers from India, obtaining visas for visiting most Western and European countries remained a challenge.

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

Officials in India have not issued a statement on the report yet.

Countries including Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan with much smaller economies than India – a nation that is the world's fifth biggest economy – are ranked higher on the index in the seventies range, respectively.

Actually, India's rank over the last ten years has hovered in the 80s, even dipping to ninetieth place in 2021. These rankings appear poor compared to Asian nations such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore, all maintaining top positions.

Global Passport Power Indicates

Passport strength indicates a nation's soft power and global influence. It also translates into better mobility for its citizens, improving commercial and educational prospects. A weak passport means additional documentation, increased visa expenses, reduced travel benefits and longer waiting times when journeying.

But despite the decline in the rank, the count of nations offering visa-free access to Indians has grown over the last ten years.

For example, in 2014 – the year the current administration's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) assumed office – fifty-two nations offered visa-free travel to Indians with the passport at seventy-sixth position in the ranking.

The following year, it fell to eighty-fifth place, then improved to eightieth over the past two years, declining once more to the eighty-fifth spot currently. Meanwhile, countries allowing visa-free travel to Indian citizens increased from 52 in 2015 to 60 in 2023 and sixty-two this year.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

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

Experts say that a major reason involves growing competition in international travel – indicating that countries are entering into additional travel agreements to benefit their citizens and their economies. According to a 2025 report, the worldwide mean number of destinations travellers are able to access visa-free has almost doubled from 58 in 2006 to 109 in 2025.

For example, The Chinese passport has expanded the number of visa-free countries available to its citizens from fifty to eighty-two in the past decade. As a result, its position in the ranking has enhanced from 94th to 60th during the same time period.

Meanwhile, India – which was ranked 77th on the index during summer – dropped to eighty-fifth place this autumn after losing access of two nations.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

A former Indian ambassador says multiple elements influencing a nation's passport power, including economic and political conditions as well as its receptiveness to welcoming citizens from other countries.

For instance, the American passport has dropped out of the top 10 currently holding twelfth place – its lowest ever – because of its increasingly insular stance in world politics.

The former ambassador mentioned that during the seventies, Indian citizens had visa-free travel to many Western and European countries, though this shifted after the Sikh separatist movement during the eighties. Subsequent political upheavals have continued to damage the country's reputation as a stable democracy.

"Numerous nations are growing more cautious regarding migrants," the diplomat added. "India has a large quantity of citizens emigrating to other countries or remaining beyond visa limits affecting the country's reputation."

Factors such as the security level of a national passport and immigration processes also play a role to obtaining visa-free entry to other countries.

Enhanced Security Measures

India's passport remains vulnerable to security risks. Last year, authorities detained 203 people for alleged passport and visa irregularities. India is also known for complex immigration processes with lengthy timelines for visa approvals.

The former ambassador indicated that new technologies, like India's recently-launched digital passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and streamline immigration. The e-passport includes a small chip holding biometric data, making it harder to forge or tamper with the document.

However, more diplomatic outreach and travel agreements continue essential for enhancing international travel freedom of Indians and consequently, India's passport ranking.