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Earlier this year, an online clip by an Indian travel influencer complaining about India's weak passport gained massive traction on social media.

The influencer stated that while nearby nations such as Bhutan and Sri Lanka were more welcoming to travelers from India, securing travel permits to travel to most Western and European countries continued to be difficult.

This dissatisfaction regarding the limited global access of Indian passports was reflected in recent Henley Passport Index, ranking India at position eighty-five out of 199 countries, a decline of five positions than last year.

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

Countries like Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size than India – which is the fifth-largest economy globally – are ranked higher on the index in the seventies range, respectively.

Actually, India's rank in the past decade has hovered in the 80s, falling to ninetieth place in 2021. Such standings are dismal when measured against Asian nations like Singapore, Japan and South Korea, all maintaining leading ranks.

What Passport Strength Measures

The power of a passport indicates a nation's soft power and international standing. This leads to enhanced travel freedom for passport holders, improving commercial and learning opportunities. A weak passport results in more paperwork, higher visa costs, fewer travel privileges and extended processing periods for travel.

However, even with the drop in position, the number of countries providing visa-free travel for Indian citizens has actually increased in the past decade or so.

For example, eight years ago – the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) assumed office – fifty-two nations provided visa-free access for Indian passport holders and its passport at seventy-sixth position on the index.

A year later, it fell to the 85th position, then rose to 80th in 2023 and 2024, declining once more to the 85th position this year. Meanwhile, visa-free destinations to Indian citizens grew from fifty-two eight years ago to sixty last year and 62 in 2024.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The count of visa-free destinations this year (fifty-seven) is higher than what it was in 2015 (52), yet India's rank during both periods is 85. 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 a 2025 report, the global average count of countries 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 increased the number of visa-free countries its citizens can travel to from fifty to eighty-two in the past decade. As a result, its position on the index has improved from 94th to 60th in that same duration.

In comparison, The Indian passport – which was ranked 77th on the index in July – dropped to the 85th position in October following the loss to two countries.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

A former Indian ambassador says there are other factors that affect the strength of a country's passport, including its economic and political stability plus its openness to accepting travelers from abroad.

For example, the US passport has fallen from the top ten currently holding the 12th position – its lowest ever – due to its increasingly insular stance in world politics.

The former ambassador recalls how in the 1970s, 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 further chipped away at India's image as a stable democracy.

"Numerous nations are also becoming increasingly wary of immigrants," the diplomat added. "India has a large quantity of citizens emigrating overseas or overstaying their visas affecting the national image."

Factors like how secure of a national passport and immigration processes also contribute in gaining visa-free access to foreign nations.

Security and Technological Improvements

The Indian passport faces ongoing security risks. Last year, authorities detained over two hundred individuals for alleged visa and passport fraud. The country also has complex immigration processes with lengthy timelines of visa processing.

The diplomat indicated that technological advances, such as the newly introduced digital passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and streamline immigration. The e-passport contains a small chip holding biometric data, increasing difficulty to counterfeit or alter the document.

However, more diplomatic outreach and travel partnerships continue essential for enhancing the global mobility of Indians and, by extension, the Indian passport's global position.