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Earlier this year, a video from a popular travel content creator expressing frustration over the limited power of the Indian passport went viral across digital platforms.

The influencer stated although nearby nations like Bhutan and Sri Lanka were more welcoming to travelers from India, securing travel permits to travel to most Western and European countries continued to be difficult.

Such concerns with the limited global access of Indian passports was reflected in recent Henley Passport Index, ranking the country at position eighty-five out of nearly two hundred nations, five spots lower than last year.

The Indian government has not commented regarding these findings yet.

Nations including Ghana, Rwanda 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, in that order.

In fact, the country's position in the past decade has hovered in the 80s, falling to the 90th spot in 2021. These rankings are dismal when measured against other Asian countries such as Singapore, Japan and South Korea, all maintaining leading ranks.

What Passport Strength Indicates

The power of a passport reflects a country's global influence and international standing. This leads to better mobility for passport holders, improving commercial and educational prospects. A weak passport results in more paperwork, increased visa expenses, reduced travel benefits and longer waiting times when journeying.

But despite the drop in position, the number of countries 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 ruling party assumed office – 52 countries offered visa-free access to Indians with the passport ranked 76th on the index.

The following year, it tumbled to eighty-fifth place, then rose to eightieth in 2023 and 2024, declining once more to the 85th position this year. Meanwhile, visa-free destinations for Indians grew from fifty-two eight years ago to 60 in 2023 and sixty-two this year.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The count of visa-free destinations this year (fifty-seven) is higher than the number in 2015 (52), yet India's rank for both these years is 85. What explains this situation?

Experts say that a major reason involves growing competition in global mobility – indicating that countries are entering into additional travel agreements to benefit their citizens and their economies. According to a 2025 report, the global average count of countries people can visit without visas has nearly doubled from 58 in 2006 to one hundred nine currently.

For example, China has expanded the number of visa-free destinations available to its citizens from 50 to 82 over the last ten years. Consequently, its rank in the ranking has enhanced from 94th to 60th in that same duration.

In comparison, The Indian passport – which was ranked at seventy-seventh place in July – dropped to eighty-fifth place in October after losing access to two countries.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

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

For instance, the American passport has dropped out from the top ten currently holding the 12th position – its lowest ever – because of its more inward-looking approach in global affairs.

The diplomat mentioned that during the seventies, Indian citizens had visa-free travel to many Western and European countries, though this shifted after the Khalistan movement in the 1980s. Subsequent political upheavals have further chipped away the country's reputation as a stable democracy.

"Many countries are also becoming increasingly wary regarding migrants," he stated. "India has a high number of citizens emigrating to other countries or overstaying their visas and that interferes with the country's reputation."

Factors such as how secure of a national passport and immigration processes also contribute in gaining visa-free entry to foreign nations.

Security and Technological Improvements

India's passport faces ongoing security risks. Last year, law enforcement arrested over two hundred individuals for alleged visa and passport fraud. The country also has cumbersome immigration procedures and a slow pace of visa processing.

The diplomat says 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 small chip that stores biometric information, increasing difficulty to forge or tamper with the document.

However, more diplomatic outreach and travel agreements continue essential to boosting the global mobility for Indian citizens and, by extension, India's passport ranking.