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Earlier this year, an online clip from a popular travel content creator complaining about India's weak passport gained massive traction on social media.

He mentioned although nearby nations like Bhutan and Sri Lanka offered easier access to travelers from India, obtaining visas to travel to most Western and European countries continued to be difficult.

Such concerns with India's poor passport strength found confirmation in the latest Henley Passport Index, ranking the country at position eighty-five among 199 countries, a decline of five positions than last year.

Officials in India has not commented on the report yet.

Nations like Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan with much smaller economies compared to India – which is the fifth-largest economy globally – are ranked higher 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, even dipping to ninetieth place two years ago. Such standings appear poor when measured against other Asian countries like Singapore, Japan and South Korea, which have consistently held leading ranks.

What Passport Strength Indicates

The power of a passport indicates a country's global influence and global influence. This leads to better mobility for its citizens, improving commercial and learning opportunities. Limited passport power results in more paperwork, increased visa expenses, fewer travel privileges and longer waiting times when journeying.

However, even with the drop in position, the count of nations offering visa-free access 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 to Indians with the passport ranked 76th on the index.

The following year, it tumbled to eighty-fifth place, then improved to 80th over the past two years, declining once more to the 85th position this year. Meanwhile, countries allowing visa-free travel for Indians increased from 52 in 2015 to sixty last year and sixty-two this year.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The number of nations allowing visa-free entry this year (fifty-seven) exceeds the number in 2015 (52), yet the country's position for both these years remains at eighty-fifth. So, why is that?

Experts say that a major reason is the increasingly competitive landscape in international travel – meaning nations are entering into more travel partnerships for their populations' advantage and economic growth. According to a 2025 report, the worldwide mean count of countries people can visit visa-free has nearly 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 fifty to eighty-two over the last ten years. Consequently, its rank in the ranking has enhanced from ninety-fourth to sixtieth in that same duration.

In comparison, India – previously positioned at seventy-seventh place in July – fell to eighty-fifth place in October after losing access to two countries.

Other Influences Affecting Passport Strength

An ex-diplomat from India notes multiple elements that affect the strength of a country's passport, including its economic and political stability plus its receptiveness to accepting travelers from other countries.

For example, the American passport has dropped out of the top 10 and now occupies twelfth place – 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, though this shifted after the Khalistan movement in the 1980s. Later political disturbances have continued to damage the country's reputation as a stable, democratic country.

"Many countries are also becoming increasingly wary regarding migrants," he stated. "India has a large quantity of people migrating to other countries or remaining beyond visa limits affecting the country's reputation."

Elements like how secure a country's passport is and immigration processes also contribute in gaining visa-free entry to foreign nations.

Enhanced Security Measures

The Indian passport remains vulnerable to security risks. In 2024, authorities detained over two hundred individuals for suspected visa and passport fraud. India is also known for complex immigration processes with lengthy timelines for visa approvals.

The diplomat says that new technologies, like India's recently-launched electronic passport or e-passport, can improve security and ease the immigration process. The e-passport contains a microchip holding biometric data, making it harder to forge or tamper with the document.

But, increased diplomatic efforts and travel agreements continue essential for enhancing the global mobility for Indian citizens and, by extension, India's passport ranking.