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

He mentioned that while neighbouring countries like 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 the latest global passport ranking, ranking India in the 85th spot among 199 countries, five spots lower than last year.

Officials in India have not issued a statement regarding these findings so far.

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

Actually, India's rank over the last ten years has hovered in the 80s, falling to ninetieth place in 2021. These rankings appear poor when measured against Asian nations such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore, which have consistently held leading ranks.

What Passport Strength Measures

The power of a passport reflects a nation's soft power and international standing. It also translates into enhanced travel freedom for passport holders, improving commercial and educational prospects. A weak passport means additional documentation, higher visa costs, reduced travel benefits and extended processing periods 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, eight years ago – the year the current administration's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power – fifty-two nations provided visa-free travel for Indian passport holders with the passport at seventy-sixth position in the ranking.

The following year, it fell to eighty-fifth place, then improved to eightieth over the past two years, dropping again to the eighty-fifth spot currently. At the same time, visa-free destinations to Indian citizens increased 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) exceeds what it was eight years ago (52), but India's rank during both periods remains at eighty-fifth. So, why is that?

Analysts note that a primary factor involves growing competition in international travel – meaning nations are forming additional travel agreements to benefit their citizens and their economies. According to a 2025 report, the worldwide mean number of destinations people can visit visa-free has nearly doubled from 58 in 2006 to one hundred nine currently.

As an illustration, The Chinese passport has increased its count of visa-free countries available to its citizens from fifty to eighty-two in the past decade. Consequently, its position in the ranking has enhanced from ninety-fourth to sixtieth in that same duration.

Meanwhile, India – which was ranked at seventy-seventh place during summer – dropped to the 85th position this autumn following the loss to two countries.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

An ex-diplomat from India says there are other factors that affect the strength of a country's passport, like economic and political conditions as well as its openness to accepting travelers from other countries.

For example, the American passport has dropped out from the top ten and now occupies twelfth place – a historic low – due to its increasingly insular stance in global affairs.

The former ambassador mentioned how in the 1970s, Indian citizens had visa-free travel to many Western and European countries, but that changed after the Khalistan movement in the 1980s. Later political disturbances have further chipped away at India's image as a stable, democratic country.

"Numerous nations are also becoming more cautious regarding migrants," the diplomat added. "India has a large quantity of citizens emigrating to other countries or overstaying their visas and that interferes with the country's reputation."

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

Enhanced Security Measures

The Indian passport faces ongoing security threats. In 2024, law enforcement detained 203 people for suspected visa and passport fraud. India is also known for complex immigration processes and a slow pace of visa processing.

The diplomat indicated that technological advances, like India's recently-launched digital passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and streamline immigration. This electronic document includes a small chip that stores biometric data, increasing difficulty to forge or tamper with the document.

But, more diplomatic outreach and travel agreements continue essential for enhancing the global mobility for Indian citizens and, by extension, the Indian passport's global position.