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Earlier this year, a video by a popular travel content creator expressing frustration over the limited power of the Indian passport gained massive traction on social media.

The influencer stated although nearby nations such as Sri Lanka and Bhutan were more welcoming to travelers from India, securing travel permits to travel to many nations in Europe and the West continued to be difficult.

This dissatisfaction with the limited global access of Indian passports was reflected in the latest global passport ranking, ranking India in the 85th spot out of 199 countries, a decline of five positions compared to the previous year.

The Indian government has not commented on the report yet.

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

Actually, the country's position over the last ten years has hovered around the eighties, even dipping to the 90th spot in 2021. These rankings are dismal compared to 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 nation's soft power and international standing. This leads to enhanced travel freedom for its citizens, improving commercial and educational prospects. Limited passport power means additional documentation, increased visa expenses, reduced travel benefits and longer waiting times when journeying.

But despite the decline in the rank, the count of nations offering visa-free access to Indians has grown in the past decade or so.

For example, eight years ago – when Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) assumed office – 52 countries provided visa-free travel to Indians and its passport ranked 76th on the index.

A year later, it fell to eighty-fifth place, then rose to 80th over the past two years, dropping again to the eighty-fifth spot this year. At the same time, visa-free destinations for Indians increased from 52 in 2015 to 60 in 2023 and sixty-two this year.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The count of nations allowing visa-free entry in 2025 (57) exceeds the number eight years ago (52), yet India's rank for both these years remains at eighty-fifth. What explains this situation?

Analysts note that a primary factor involves growing competition in global mobility – indicating that countries are forming additional travel agreements to benefit their citizens and their economies. 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 one hundred nine currently.

As an illustration, The Chinese passport has increased its count of visa-free destinations its citizens can travel to from 50 to 82 in the past decade. As a result, its position on the index has improved from 94th to 60th during the same time period.

In comparison, The Indian passport – which was ranked at seventy-seventh place during summer – dropped to eighty-fifth place this autumn following the loss of two nations.

Additional Factors Affecting Passport Strength

A former Indian ambassador notes there are other factors influencing a nation's passport power, including economic and political conditions plus its openness to accepting travelers from abroad.

For example, the American passport has fallen of the top 10 currently holding twelfth place – its lowest ever – because of its more inward-looking approach in world politics.

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 in the 1980s. Subsequent political upheavals have further chipped away the country's reputation as a stable, democratic country.

"Many countries are growing increasingly wary regarding migrants," the diplomat added. "India has a large quantity of citizens emigrating to other countries or overstaying their visas affecting the country's reputation."

Elements such as how secure a country's passport is and immigration processes also play a role in gaining visa-free access to foreign nations.

Enhanced Security Measures

The Indian passport remains vulnerable to security risks. In 2024, authorities arrested over two hundred individuals for suspected visa and passport fraud. The country also has complex immigration processes and a slow pace of visa processing.

The diplomat says that new technologies, such as the newly introduced electronic passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and ease the immigration process. This electronic document includes a microchip that stores biometric information, making it harder to forge or tamper with the document.

But, increased diplomatic efforts and travel partnerships continue essential for enhancing international travel freedom for Indian citizens and consequently, the Indian passport's global position.