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Earlier this year, a video from a popular travel content creator expressing frustration over India's weak passport gained massive traction on social media.

He mentioned that while nearby nations such as Sri Lanka and Bhutan were more welcoming to travelers from India, obtaining visas for visiting most Western and European countries continued to be difficult.

This dissatisfaction with 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 than last year.

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

Nations including Rwanda, Ghana and Azerbaijan with much smaller economies compared to 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.

Actually, the country's position in the past decade has hovered around the eighties, falling to ninetieth place two years ago. These rankings are dismal compared to 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 global influence. It also translates into enhanced travel freedom for its citizens, improving commercial and learning opportunities. Limited passport power means more paperwork, higher visa costs, reduced travel benefits and longer waiting times when journeying.

However, even with the drop in position, the number of countries providing visa-free travel to Indians has grown in the past decade or so.

As an instance, eight years ago – the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) assumed office – fifty-two nations provided visa-free travel to Indians with the passport ranked 76th on the index.

The following year, it tumbled to the 85th position, then rose to eightieth over the past two years, dropping again to the 85th position currently. At the same time, countries allowing visa-free travel for Indians grew from fifty-two eight years ago to sixty last year and sixty-two this year.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The count of nations allowing visa-free entry in 2025 (fifty-seven) is higher than what it was eight years ago (52), 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 global mobility – meaning nations are forming more travel partnerships for their populations' advantage and their economies. As per recent analysis, the global average number of destinations people can visit visa-free has nearly doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to 109 in 2025.

For example, The Chinese passport has expanded its count of visa-free destinations its citizens can travel to 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, India – which was ranked at seventy-seventh place in July – dropped to eighty-fifth place this autumn after losing access of two nations.

Other Influences Impacting Passport Power

An ex-diplomat from India says multiple elements influencing the strength of a country's passport, including its economic and political stability plus its openness to accepting travelers from abroad.

For example, the US passport has fallen from the top ten currently holding the 12th position – its lowest ever – due to its increasingly insular stance in global affairs.

The former ambassador recalls that during the seventies, Indians enjoyed visa-free access to numerous European and Western nations, but that changed following Sikh separatist movement during the eighties. Later political disturbances have further chipped away at India's image as a stable, democratic country.

"Numerous nations are also becoming more cautious of immigrants," he stated. "The country possesses a large quantity of people migrating to other countries or overstaying their visas and that interferes with the national image."

Elements like the security level of a national passport and its immigration procedures also contribute in gaining visa-free entry to foreign nations.

Security and Technological Improvements

India's passport faces ongoing security risks. In 2024, authorities arrested 203 people for suspected visa and passport fraud. The country also has complex immigration processes with lengthy timelines of visa processing.

The diplomat indicated that new technologies, such as the newly introduced electronic passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and streamline immigration. The e-passport contains a small chip that stores biometric information, making it harder to counterfeit or alter the document.

However, more diplomatic outreach and travel partnerships remain key to boosting international travel freedom for Indian citizens and consequently, the Indian passport's global position.