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In recent months, a video from a popular travel content creator expressing frustration over India's weak passport gained massive traction on social media.

He mentioned although neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka and Bhutan were more welcoming to Indian tourists, securing travel permits for visiting most Western and European countries continued to be difficult.

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

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

Countries including Rwanda, Ghana and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size compared to India – a nation that is the world's fifth biggest economy – hold better positions on the index at the 78th, 74th and 72nd spots, respectively.

Actually, the country's position over the last ten years has hovered around the eighties, falling to ninetieth place in 2021. These rankings appear poor compared to other Asian countries like Japan, South Korea and Singapore, which have consistently held top positions.

Global Passport Power Measures

The power of a passport reflects a nation's soft power and global influence. It also translates into enhanced travel freedom for its citizens, boosting business and educational prospects. Limited passport power means more paperwork, higher visa costs, reduced travel benefits and longer waiting times for travel.

However, even with the drop in position, the count of nations providing visa-free travel to Indians has grown in the past decade or so.

As an instance, eight years ago – when Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party assumed office – 52 countries provided visa-free travel to Indians with the passport ranked 76th in the ranking.

The following year, it fell to eighty-fifth place, then improved to eightieth over the past two years, dropping again to the 85th position currently. At the same time, visa-free destinations to Indian citizens increased from fifty-two eight years ago to 60 in 2023 and 62 in 2024.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The number of visa-free destinations in 2025 (fifty-seven) is higher than what it was in 2015 (fifty-two), but India's rank for both these years is 85. So, why is that?

Analysts note that a major reason involves growing competition in international travel – meaning countries are entering into additional travel agreements for their populations' advantage and their economies. According to a 2025 report, the global average count of countries travellers are able to access without visas has nearly doubled from 58 in 2006 to 109 in 2025.

As an illustration, China has increased the number of visa-free destinations its citizens can travel to from 50 to 82 over the last ten years. As a result, its position on the index has improved from ninety-fourth to sixtieth during the same time period.

Meanwhile, India – which was ranked at seventy-seventh place in July – dropped to eighty-fifth place in October following the loss to two countries.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

An ex-diplomat from India notes there are other factors influencing the strength of a country's passport, like its economic and political stability plus its openness to welcoming citizens from other countries.

For example, the American passport has dropped out of the top 10 currently holding the 12th position – a historic low – because of its increasingly insular stance in global affairs.

The diplomat recalls how in the 1970s, Indian citizens had visa-free access to numerous European and Western nations, but that changed after the Khalistan movement in the 1980s. Later political disturbances have further chipped away at India's image as a stable, democratic country.

"Numerous nations are also becoming increasingly wary regarding migrants," he stated. "The country possesses a large quantity of people migrating overseas or remaining beyond visa limits and that interferes with the national image."

Elements such as how secure of a national passport and its immigration procedures also play a role to obtaining visa-free entry to foreign nations.

Enhanced Security Measures

India's passport remains vulnerable to security risks. Last year, law enforcement detained over two hundred individuals for suspected passport and visa irregularities. India is also known for complex immigration processes with lengthy timelines of visa processing.

The diplomat says that new technologies, such as the newly introduced digital passport or e-passport, can improve security and ease the immigration process. The e-passport includes a small chip holding biometric information, increasing difficulty to forge or tamper with the passport.

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