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In recent months, a video by a popular travel content creator complaining about India's weak passport gained massive traction across digital platforms.

He mentioned although neighbouring countries such as Bhutan and Sri Lanka were more welcoming of travelers from India, securing travel permits to travel to many nations in Europe and the West continued to be difficult.

Such concerns regarding India's poor passport strength found confirmation in recent Henley Passport Index, ranking India in the 85th spot out of nearly two hundred nations, five spots lower compared to the previous year.

The Indian government has not commented regarding these findings so far.

Countries like Rwanda, Ghana and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size compared to India – a nation that is the fifth-largest economy globally – are ranked higher on the index in the seventies range, in that order.

Actually, the country's position over the last ten years has remained in the 80s, falling to ninetieth place two years ago. These rankings appear poor compared to other Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore, all maintaining top positions.

What Passport Strength Indicates

Passport strength reflects a nation's soft power and international standing. This leads to better mobility for passport holders, improving commercial and learning opportunities. Limited passport power means additional documentation, increased visa expenses, fewer travel privileges and longer waiting times for travel.

But despite the decline in the rank, the number of countries offering visa-free access for Indian citizens has grown over the last ten years.

As an instance, in 2014 – the year the current administration's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) assumed office – 52 countries offered visa-free travel for Indian passport holders and its passport ranked 76th on the index.

A year later, it tumbled to the 85th position, then rose to eightieth over the past two years, declining once more to the eighty-fifth spot currently. Meanwhile, countries allowing visa-free travel for Indians grew 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 this year (57) is higher than the number eight years ago (fifty-two), yet India's rank during both periods is 85. What explains this situation?

Experts say that a primary factor is the increasingly competitive landscape in international travel – indicating that nations are forming more travel partnerships for their populations' advantage and their economies. As per recent analysis, the worldwide mean number of destinations travellers are able to access visa-free has almost doubled from 58 in 2006 to 109 in 2025.

As an illustration, China has expanded the number of visa-free countries its citizens can travel to from 50 to 82 in the past decade. As a result, its rank on the index has enhanced from 94th to 60th during the same time period.

Meanwhile, The Indian passport – which was ranked 77th on the index during summer – dropped to the 85th position this autumn after losing access of two nations.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

A former Indian ambassador notes there are other factors that affect a nation's passport power, like economic and political conditions plus its openness to welcoming citizens from other countries.

For example, the US passport has dropped out from the top ten and now occupies twelfth place – its lowest ever – due to its increasingly insular stance in world politics.

The former ambassador recalls that during the seventies, Indian citizens had visa-free access to many Western and European countries, though this shifted after the Khalistan movement in the 1980s. Subsequent political upheavals have continued to damage the country's reputation as a stable, democratic country.

"Many countries are also becoming more cautious regarding migrants," the diplomat added. "The country possesses a large quantity of citizens emigrating to other countries or remaining beyond visa limits and that interferes with the national image."

Elements such as the security level a country's passport is and its immigration procedures also contribute to obtaining visa-free access to foreign nations.

Security and Technological Improvements

India's passport remains vulnerable to security risks. In 2024, authorities arrested 203 people for alleged visa and passport fraud. The country also has complex immigration processes and a slow pace for visa approvals.

The former ambassador indicated that new technologies, like India's recently-launched electronic passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and streamline immigration. The e-passport includes a small chip holding biometric data, increasing difficulty to counterfeit or alter the document.

However, increased diplomatic efforts and travel partnerships remain key for enhancing the global mobility for Indian citizens and, by extension, India's passport ranking.