🔗 Share this article

In recent months, an online clip from an Indian travel influencer expressing frustration over the limited power of the Indian passport went viral across digital platforms.

He mentioned although nearby nations such as Bhutan and Sri Lanka offered easier access to Indian tourists, obtaining visas for visiting many nations in Europe and the West continued to be difficult.

This dissatisfaction regarding the limited global access of Indian passports found confirmation in recent global passport ranking, which placed the country at position eighty-five among 199 countries, five spots lower compared to the previous year.

The Indian government has not commented on the report yet.

Nations like Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan with much smaller economies compared to India – a nation that is the world's fifth biggest economy – are ranked higher in the ranking at the 78th, 74th and 72nd spots, in that order.

In fact, India's rank in the past decade has hovered in the 80s, falling to ninetieth place in 2021. These rankings are dismal compared to Asian nations like Singapore, Japan and South Korea, all maintaining leading ranks.

What Passport Strength Indicates

The power of a passport indicates a country's global influence and international standing. This leads to better mobility for its citizens, boosting business and learning opportunities. A weak passport means additional documentation, higher visa costs, reduced travel benefits and extended processing periods when journeying.

However, even with the decline in the rank, the count of nations providing visa-free travel for Indian citizens has grown over the last ten years.

As an instance, in 2014 – the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power – fifty-two nations offered visa-free access for Indian passport holders with the passport at seventy-sixth position in the ranking.

The following year, it tumbled to eighty-fifth place, then improved to eightieth over the past two years, declining once more to the 85th position currently. Meanwhile, countries allowing visa-free travel to Indian citizens increased from fifty-two eight years ago to 60 in 2023 and sixty-two this year.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The number of visa-free destinations in 2025 (fifty-seven) exceeds what it was eight years ago (52), but India's rank for both these years remains at eighty-fifth. What explains this situation?

Experts say that a major reason involves growing competition in international travel – indicating that countries are entering into additional travel agreements to benefit their citizens and economic growth. As per a 2025 report, the global average number of destinations travellers are able to access visa-free has almost doubled from 58 in 2006 to one hundred nine currently.

For example, China has increased the number of visa-free countries its citizens can travel to from fifty to eighty-two over the last ten years. As a result, its position on the index has enhanced from ninety-fourth to sixtieth in that same duration.

In comparison, India – which was ranked 77th on the index in July – fell to eighty-fifth place this autumn following the loss to two countries.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

An ex-diplomat from India notes multiple elements that affect the strength of a country's passport, like its economic and political stability plus its openness to welcoming citizens from abroad.

For example, the US passport has dropped out from the top ten and now occupies twelfth place – its lowest ever – due to its more inward-looking approach in world politics.

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

"Many countries are also becoming more cautious regarding migrants," he stated. "India has a high number of citizens emigrating overseas or overstaying their visas affecting the national image."

Factors such as how secure of a national passport and its immigration procedures also play a role to obtaining visa-free access to other countries.

Enhanced Security Measures

India's passport faces ongoing security risks. In 2024, authorities detained over two hundred individuals for suspected visa and passport fraud. The country also has cumbersome immigration procedures with lengthy timelines of visa processing.

The diplomat indicated that new technologies, such as the newly introduced electronic passport or e-passport, can improve security and ease the immigration process. The e-passport contains a microchip that stores biometric data, making it harder to forge or tamper with the document.

However, increased diplomatic efforts and travel partnerships continue essential to boosting the global mobility for Indian citizens and consequently, the Indian passport's global position.