🔗 Share this article

In recent months, a video by an Indian travel influencer complaining about the limited power of the Indian passport gained massive traction on social media.

He mentioned although nearby nations such as Sri Lanka and Bhutan were more welcoming of Indian tourists, securing travel permits to travel to many nations in Europe and the West remained a challenge.

This dissatisfaction with India's poor passport strength was reflected in recent global passport ranking, which placed India at position eighty-five out of 199 countries, a decline of five positions than last year.

The Indian government has not commented on the report yet.

Nations including Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan with much smaller economies than India – a nation that is the fifth-largest economy globally – are ranked higher on the index in the seventies range, respectively.

Actually, the country's position in the past decade has hovered around the eighties, falling to ninetieth place in 2021. These rankings appear poor compared to other Asian countries like Singapore, Japan and South Korea, which have consistently held leading ranks.

Global Passport Power Indicates

The power of a passport indicates a nation's soft power and global influence. It also translates into enhanced travel freedom for passport holders, improving commercial and educational prospects. Limited passport power results in more paperwork, increased visa expenses, fewer travel privileges and extended processing periods for travel.

But despite the drop in position, the count of nations providing visa-free travel to Indians has grown over the last ten years.

As an instance, in 2014 – the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party assumed office – 52 countries provided visa-free access to Indians and its passport ranked 76th on the index.

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

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The number of nations allowing visa-free entry this year (57) is higher than what it was in 2015 (52), but India's rank for both these years is 85. What explains this situation?

Analysts note that a primary factor is the increasingly competitive landscape in global mobility – indicating that nations are entering into more travel partnerships to benefit their citizens and economic growth. As per a 2025 report, the worldwide mean number of destinations people can visit without visas has almost doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago 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 in the past decade. As a result, its rank in the ranking has enhanced from ninety-fourth to sixtieth in that same duration.

In comparison, The Indian passport – previously positioned at seventy-seventh place during summer – fell to the 85th position in October following the loss of two nations.

Other Influences Affecting Passport Strength

A former Indian ambassador says there are other factors that affect a nation's passport power, including its economic and political stability as well as its receptiveness to accepting travelers from abroad.

For example, the US passport has dropped out of the top 10 currently holding twelfth place – a historic low – due to its increasingly insular stance 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 Sikh separatist movement in the 1980s. Subsequent political upheavals have continued to damage at India's image as a stable democracy.

"Many countries are also becoming more cautious of immigrants," he stated. "India has a high number of citizens emigrating overseas or overstaying their visas affecting the country's reputation."

Elements such as how secure a country's passport is and its immigration procedures also contribute in gaining visa-free access to other countries.

Enhanced Security Measures

The Indian passport remains vulnerable to security threats. In 2024, law enforcement arrested over two hundred individuals for suspected visa and passport fraud. The country also has cumbersome immigration procedures and a slow pace for visa approvals.

The former ambassador indicated that technological advances, like India's recently-launched electronic passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and ease the immigration process. This electronic document includes a small chip that stores biometric information, making it harder to counterfeit or alter the document.

But, increased diplomatic efforts and travel partnerships remain key for enhancing the global mobility for Indian citizens and, by extension, the Indian passport's global position.