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In recent months, a video by an Indian travel influencer expressing frustration over the limited power of the Indian passport went viral across digital platforms.

He mentioned that while nearby nations like Sri Lanka and Bhutan offered easier access of travelers from India, securing travel permits to travel to most Western and European countries remained a challenge.

Such concerns with India's poor passport strength found confirmation in the latest 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 so far.

Countries like Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size than India – which is the fifth-largest economy globally – hold better positions in the ranking in the seventies range, in that order.

In fact, India's rank over the last ten years has hovered around the eighties, falling to the 90th spot in 2021. These rankings are dismal when measured against other Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore, all maintaining top positions.

What Passport Strength Indicates

Passport strength indicates a country's global influence and international standing. It also translates into better mobility for passport holders, improving commercial and learning opportunities. Limited passport power means more paperwork, higher visa costs, fewer travel privileges and extended processing periods for travel.

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

For example, eight years ago – the year the current administration's ruling party assumed office – 52 countries provided visa-free access to Indians and its passport at seventy-sixth position on the index.

A year later, it tumbled to the 85th position, then rose to eightieth in 2023 and 2024, declining once more to the eighty-fifth spot currently. Meanwhile, visa-free destinations to Indian citizens increased from 52 in 2015 to 60 in 2023 and sixty-two this year.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The number of visa-free destinations this year (fifty-seven) is higher than what it was eight years ago (52), but the country's position for both these years is 85. What explains this situation?

Experts say that a major reason is the increasingly competitive landscape in international travel – indicating that countries are forming more travel partnerships to benefit their citizens and their economies. As per recent analysis, the global average count of countries people can visit without visas has almost doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to 109 in 2025.

As an illustration, The Chinese passport has increased the number of visa-free countries its citizens can travel to from 50 to 82 in the past decade. As a result, its position on the index has enhanced from ninety-fourth to sixtieth in that same duration.

Meanwhile, India – previously positioned at seventy-seventh place in July – dropped to the 85th position this autumn after losing access to two countries.

Other Influences Affecting Passport Strength

A former Indian ambassador says there are other factors influencing the strength of a country's passport, like economic and political conditions plus its receptiveness to accepting travelers from abroad.

For example, the US passport has dropped out of the top 10 and now occupies the 12th position – a historic low – due to its more inward-looking approach in world politics.

The former ambassador recalls how in the 1970s, Indians enjoyed visa-free travel to numerous European and Western nations, but that changed following Khalistan movement during the eighties. Subsequent political upheavals have continued to damage the country's reputation as a stable, democratic country.

"Many countries are growing more cautious of immigrants," he stated. "India has a large quantity of people migrating to other countries or overstaying their visas and that interferes with the country's reputation."

Factors like the security level a country's passport is and immigration processes also contribute to obtaining visa-free entry to foreign nations.

Security and Technological Improvements

India's passport remains vulnerable to security risks. In 2024, authorities detained over two hundred individuals for alleged visa and passport fraud. India is also known for cumbersome immigration procedures with lengthy timelines of visa processing.

The former ambassador says that new technologies, such as the newly introduced digital passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and ease the immigration process. The e-passport includes a microchip that stores biometric data, increasing difficulty to forge or tamper with the document.

But, increased diplomatic efforts and travel partnerships continue essential to boosting international travel freedom for Indian citizens and, by extension, the Indian passport's global position.