🔗 Share this article

In recent months, a video by a popular travel content creator expressing frustration over India's weak passport went viral on social media.

The influencer stated that while nearby nations such as Sri Lanka and Bhutan were more welcoming to Indian tourists, obtaining visas for visiting most Western and European countries remained a challenge.

Such concerns with the limited global access of Indian passports found confirmation in recent global passport ranking, which placed India in the 85th spot among nearly two hundred nations, five spots lower than last year.

Officials in India has not commented on the report so far.

Countries including Rwanda, Ghana and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size compared to India – which is the fifth-largest economy globally – are ranked higher on the index in the seventies range, in that order.

In fact, India's rank in the past decade has remained in the 80s, falling to the 90th spot two years ago. These rankings appear poor compared to other Asian countries like Singapore, Japan and South Korea, which have consistently held leading ranks.

Global Passport Power Measures

The power of a passport indicates a nation's soft power and global influence. This leads to enhanced travel freedom for its citizens, improving commercial and learning opportunities. Limited passport power results in more paperwork, increased visa expenses, reduced travel benefits and longer waiting times when journeying.

However, even with the decline in the rank, the count of nations offering visa-free access 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 – fifty-two nations offered visa-free access to Indians with the passport ranked 76th in the ranking.

A year later, it tumbled to the 85th position, then rose to eightieth over the past two years, dropping again to the eighty-fifth spot currently. At the same time, countries allowing visa-free travel to Indian citizens grew from 52 in 2015 to sixty last year and 62 in 2024.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The number of nations allowing visa-free entry in 2025 (57) exceeds what it was eight years ago (52), but India's rank for both these years is 85. So, why is that?

Experts say that a primary factor involves growing competition in international travel – indicating that countries are forming additional travel agreements to benefit their citizens and their economies. As per recent analysis, the global average number of destinations people can visit without visas has almost doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to one hundred nine currently.

As an illustration, China has increased its count of visa-free countries available to its citizens from 50 to 82 over the last ten years. Consequently, its rank on the index has improved from 94th to 60th in that same duration.

Meanwhile, The Indian passport – previously positioned 77th on the index in July – dropped to eighty-fifth place this autumn following the loss 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 economic and political conditions as well as its openness to welcoming citizens from other countries.

For example, the American passport has dropped out of the top 10 and now occupies the 12th position – its lowest ever – due to its increasingly insular stance in global affairs.

The former ambassador recalls how in the 1970s, Indian citizens had visa-free travel to numerous European and Western nations, though this shifted following Sikh separatist movement during the eighties. Later political disturbances have further chipped away at India's image as a stable democracy.

"Numerous nations are also becoming more cautious regarding migrants," the diplomat added. "The country possesses a high number of citizens emigrating to other countries or remaining beyond visa limits and that interferes with the country's reputation."

Factors like how secure a country's passport is and its immigration procedures also play a role to obtaining visa-free access to foreign nations.

Enhanced Security Measures

The Indian passport remains vulnerable to security threats. In 2024, authorities detained 203 people for suspected passport and visa irregularities. India is also known for complex immigration processes and a slow pace of visa processing.

The former ambassador says that new technologies, 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 holding biometric information, making it harder to counterfeit or alter the passport.

But, increased diplomatic efforts and travel agreements remain key for enhancing the global mobility of Indians and consequently, the Indian passport's global position.