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In recent months, an online clip by a popular travel content creator expressing frustration over India's weak passport went viral across digital platforms.

He mentioned that while neighbouring countries like Bhutan and Sri Lanka offered easier access to Indian tourists, obtaining visas to travel to most Western and European countries continued to be difficult.

Such concerns regarding India's poor passport strength found confirmation in recent Henley Passport Index, ranking the country in the 85th spot out of nearly two hundred nations, a decline of five positions compared to the previous year.

Officials in India has not commented regarding these findings so far.

Countries like Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan with much smaller economies compared to India – which is the fifth-largest economy globally – are ranked higher on the index at the 78th, 74th and 72nd spots, respectively.

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

What Passport Strength Measures

The power of a passport reflects a nation's soft power and global influence. It also translates into better mobility for its citizens, boosting business and educational prospects. A weak passport means additional documentation, higher visa costs, reduced travel benefits and longer waiting times for travel.

However, even with the decline in the rank, the count of nations providing visa-free travel to Indians has actually increased over the last ten years.

As an instance, in 2014 – when the current administration's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power – fifty-two nations offered visa-free access to Indians and its passport at seventy-sixth position in the ranking.

The following year, it fell to the 85th position, then improved to eightieth over the past two years, 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 62 in 2024.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The count of nations allowing visa-free entry in 2025 (fifty-seven) exceeds what it was eight years ago (52), 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 nations are forming more travel partnerships for their populations' advantage and their economies. According to a 2025 report, the worldwide mean number of destinations travellers are able to access visa-free has nearly doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to one hundred nine currently.

As an illustration, The Chinese passport has increased the number of visa-free destinations its citizens can travel to from fifty to eighty-two over the last ten years. Consequently, its position in the ranking has improved from ninety-fourth to sixtieth during the same time period.

In comparison, The Indian passport – which was ranked at seventy-seventh place during summer – dropped to eighty-fifth place in October after losing access of two nations.

Other Influences Affecting Passport Strength

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

For instance, the US passport has dropped out from the top ten and now occupies twelfth place – a historic low – due to its increasingly insular stance in world politics.

The diplomat mentioned that during the seventies, Indians enjoyed visa-free access to many Western and European countries, though this shifted following Khalistan movement in the 1980s. Subsequent political upheavals have further chipped away at India's image as a stable democracy.

"Numerous nations are growing more cautious of immigrants," he stated. "The country possesses a large quantity of people migrating overseas or overstaying their visas and that interferes with the country's reputation."

Factors like the security level of a national passport and immigration processes also play a role in gaining visa-free access to other countries.

Enhanced Security Measures

India's passport remains vulnerable to security risks. In 2024, law enforcement arrested over two hundred individuals for suspected passport and visa irregularities. The country also has cumbersome immigration procedures with lengthy timelines of visa processing.

The former ambassador indicated that technological advances, like India's recently-launched digital passport or e-passport, can improve security and ease the immigration process. This electronic document includes a microchip that stores biometric data, making it harder to counterfeit or alter the document.

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