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Earlier this year, an online clip by a popular travel content creator complaining about India's weak passport gained massive traction across digital platforms.

The influencer stated although neighbouring countries such as Sri Lanka and Bhutan were more welcoming to travelers from India, obtaining visas for visiting 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, which placed the country in the 85th spot out of 199 countries, five spots lower than last year.

Officials in India have not issued a statement on the report so far.

Nations like Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan with much smaller economies compared to India – a nation that is the fifth-largest economy globally – are ranked higher in the ranking in the seventies range, respectively.

Actually, the country's position in the past decade has hovered in the 80s, falling to the 90th spot in 2021. These rankings appear poor compared to other Asian countries such as Singapore, Japan and South Korea, which have consistently held leading ranks.

What Passport Strength Indicates

The power of a passport reflects a country's global influence and international standing. It also translates into better mobility for its citizens, boosting business and educational prospects. Limited passport power means more paperwork, higher visa costs, reduced travel benefits and extended processing periods for travel.

However, even with the drop in position, the number of countries offering visa-free access for Indian citizens has grown over the last ten years.

For example, in 2014 – the year the current administration's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power – fifty-two nations provided visa-free travel to Indians with the passport at seventy-sixth position in the ranking.

The following year, it tumbled to eighty-fifth place, then rose to 80th over the past two years, dropping again to the eighty-fifth spot currently. Meanwhile, visa-free destinations to Indian citizens grew from 52 in 2015 to sixty last year and sixty-two this year.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The count of nations allowing visa-free entry this year (fifty-seven) is higher than what it was eight years ago (fifty-two), but India's rank during both periods remains at eighty-fifth. So, why is that?

Analysts note that a primary factor is the increasingly competitive landscape in international travel – meaning countries are entering into more travel partnerships to benefit their citizens and their economies. As per recent analysis, the worldwide mean number of destinations travellers are able to access without visas has nearly doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to 109 in 2025.

For example, China has increased the number of visa-free countries available to its citizens from 50 to 82 in the past decade. As a result, its position in the ranking has enhanced from 94th to 60th during the same time period.

In comparison, The Indian passport – previously positioned at seventy-seventh place in July – fell to the 85th position in October after losing access to two countries.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

An ex-diplomat from India notes there are other factors influencing the strength of a country's passport, like its economic and political stability plus its openness to welcoming citizens from other countries.

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

The diplomat mentioned how in the 1970s, Indian citizens had visa-free travel to numerous European and Western nations, but that changed after the Khalistan movement during the eighties. Subsequent political upheavals have continued to damage the country's reputation as a stable democracy.

"Many countries are also becoming increasingly wary of immigrants," the diplomat added. "The country possesses a high number of people migrating overseas or overstaying their visas and that interferes with the national image."

Elements such as the security level of a national passport and its immigration procedures also play a role in gaining visa-free access to foreign nations.

Security and Technological Improvements

India's passport faces ongoing security threats. Last year, authorities detained over two hundred individuals for alleged visa and passport fraud. The country also has complex immigration processes with lengthy timelines of visa processing.

The diplomat says that technological advances, like India's recently-launched electronic passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and streamline immigration. This electronic document contains a small chip that stores biometric information, increasing difficulty to forge or tamper with the passport.

However, increased diplomatic efforts and travel partnerships continue essential for enhancing international travel freedom for Indian citizens and, by extension, India's passport ranking.