🔗 Share this article

In recent months, an online clip by an Indian travel influencer complaining about India's weak passport gained massive traction on social media.

He mentioned that while neighbouring countries such as Sri Lanka and Bhutan offered easier access to Indian tourists, obtaining visas for visiting many nations in Europe and the West continued to be difficult.

This dissatisfaction regarding the limited global access of Indian passports was reflected in recent global passport ranking, ranking India in the 85th spot out of nearly two hundred nations, five spots lower than last year.

The Indian government have not issued a statement regarding these findings so far.

Nations including Rwanda, Ghana and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size than India – which 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, India's rank over the last ten years has hovered around the eighties, falling to ninetieth place in 2021. Such standings are dismal when measured against other Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore, all maintaining top positions.

Global Passport Power Measures

Passport strength reflects a country's global influence and global influence. This leads to enhanced travel freedom for its citizens, improving commercial and learning opportunities. Limited passport power results in more paperwork, higher visa costs, reduced travel benefits and extended processing periods for travel.

However, even with the drop in position, the count of nations providing visa-free travel for Indian citizens has grown in the past decade or so.

As an instance, eight years ago – the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party assumed office – 52 countries offered visa-free access to Indians and its passport ranked 76th on the index.

A year later, it fell to the 85th position, then rose to 80th over the past two years, dropping again to the 85th position this year. At the same time, visa-free destinations for Indians increased from 52 in 2015 to sixty last year and 62 in 2024.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The number of nations allowing visa-free entry in 2025 (57) is higher than the number in 2015 (52), yet the country's position for both these years remains at eighty-fifth. What explains this situation?

Experts say that a primary factor is the increasingly competitive landscape in international travel – indicating that countries are entering into additional travel agreements to benefit their citizens and their economies. According to recent analysis, the global average count of countries people can visit visa-free has nearly doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to 109 in 2025.

As an illustration, The Chinese passport has increased the number of visa-free destinations its citizens can travel to from fifty to eighty-two in the past decade. Consequently, its position in the ranking has improved from 94th to 60th during the same time period.

In comparison, The Indian passport – previously positioned at seventy-seventh place in July – dropped to eighty-fifth place this autumn following the loss to two countries.

Additional Factors Affecting Passport Strength

A former Indian ambassador says multiple elements that affect a nation's passport power, like economic and political conditions plus its openness to accepting travelers from other countries.

For instance, the US passport has dropped out of the top 10 currently holding the 12th position – its lowest ever – due to its more inward-looking approach in global affairs.

The diplomat mentioned 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. Later political disturbances have further chipped away the country's reputation as a stable, democratic country.

"Numerous nations are also becoming more cautious of immigrants," he stated. "The country possesses a high number of people migrating overseas or remaining beyond visa limits and that interferes with the national image."

Factors such as how secure a country's passport is and its immigration procedures also contribute in gaining visa-free access to foreign nations.

Enhanced Security Measures

India's passport faces ongoing security risks. In 2024, law enforcement detained 203 people for suspected passport and visa irregularities. The country also has cumbersome immigration procedures with lengthy timelines for visa approvals.

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 includes a small chip that stores biometric information, making it harder to counterfeit or alter the document.

However, increased diplomatic efforts and travel agreements continue essential for enhancing the global mobility for Indian citizens and consequently, the Indian passport's global position.