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Earlier this year, an online clip from an Indian travel influencer expressing frustration over India's weak passport went viral across digital platforms.

He mentioned although neighbouring countries such as Bhutan and Sri Lanka were more welcoming of travelers from India, obtaining visas for visiting many nations in Europe and the West remained a challenge.

Such concerns regarding India's poor passport strength found confirmation in the latest Henley Passport Index, which placed India at position eighty-five out of nearly two hundred nations, a decline of five positions compared to the previous year.

The Indian government have not issued a statement on the report so far.

Nations like Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan with much smaller economies than India – which is the fifth-largest economy globally – hold better positions in the ranking in the seventies range, respectively.

In fact, India's rank over the last ten years has remained around the eighties, falling to the 90th spot in 2021. Such standings appear poor when measured against other Asian countries such as Singapore, Japan and South Korea, all maintaining leading ranks.

What Passport Strength Measures

The power of a passport indicates a nation's soft power and international standing. This leads to better mobility for its citizens, improving commercial and learning opportunities. A weak passport means more paperwork, higher visa costs, fewer travel privileges and extended processing periods for travel.

However, even with the drop in position, the number of countries providing visa-free travel to Indians has actually increased over the last ten years.

For example, in 2014 – the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) assumed office – 52 countries provided visa-free access for Indian passport holders with the passport ranked 76th on the index.

The following year, it fell to eighty-fifth place, then improved to 80th over the past two years, declining once more to the eighty-fifth spot this year. At the same time, visa-free destinations to Indian citizens grew from fifty-two eight years ago to 60 in 2023 and sixty-two this year.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The number of visa-free destinations in 2025 (57) exceeds the number in 2015 (fifty-two), but the country's position during both periods remains at eighty-fifth. What explains this situation?

Experts say that a primary factor involves growing competition in international travel – indicating that countries are forming more travel partnerships to benefit their citizens and their economies. As per recent analysis, the worldwide mean count of countries people can visit without visas has almost doubled from 58 in 2006 to one hundred nine currently.

For example, The Chinese passport has expanded its count 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 in that same duration.

Meanwhile, The Indian passport – which was ranked 77th on the index in July – fell to eighty-fifth place in October 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, including economic and political conditions plus its receptiveness to accepting travelers from other countries.

For instance, 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 diplomat mentioned how in the 1970s, Indians enjoyed visa-free travel to many Western and European countries, but that changed after the Khalistan movement during the eighties. Subsequent political upheavals have further chipped away the country's reputation as a stable, democratic country.

"Numerous nations are growing increasingly wary regarding migrants," he stated. "The country possesses a high number of people migrating overseas or overstaying their visas and that interferes with the country's reputation."

Elements like how secure of a national passport and its immigration procedures also contribute in gaining visa-free access to foreign nations.

Security and Technological Improvements

The Indian passport faces ongoing security threats. Last year, law enforcement detained 203 people for alleged visa and passport fraud. The country also has cumbersome immigration procedures with lengthy timelines of visa processing.

The diplomat indicated that technological advances, like India's recently-launched digital passport or e-passport, can improve security and streamline immigration. The e-passport contains a small chip holding biometric data, increasing difficulty to forge or tamper with the document.

But, more diplomatic outreach and travel agreements remain key for enhancing the global mobility of Indians and, by extension, India's passport ranking.