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Earlier this year, an online clip by an Indian travel influencer complaining about India's weak passport went viral across digital platforms.

The influencer stated although neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka and Bhutan offered easier access of travelers from India, securing travel permits to travel to most Western and European countries continued to be difficult.

Such concerns with India's poor passport strength found confirmation in recent global passport ranking, which placed India in the 85th spot among nearly two hundred nations, five spots lower compared to the previous year.

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

Nations including Rwanda, Ghana and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size compared to India – which is the fifth-largest economy globally – are ranked higher in the ranking at the 78th, 74th and 72nd spots, respectively.

Actually, the country's position over the last ten years has remained around the eighties, even dipping to ninetieth place two years ago. These rankings are dismal when measured against other Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore, all maintaining leading ranks.

Global Passport Power Indicates

The power of a passport reflects a country's global influence and global influence. This leads to enhanced travel freedom for passport holders, boosting business and learning opportunities. A weak passport results in additional documentation, higher visa costs, reduced travel benefits and longer waiting times when journeying.

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

As an instance, eight years ago – the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party came to power – fifty-two nations provided visa-free travel for Indian passport holders with the passport ranked 76th on the index.

The following year, it tumbled to the 85th position, then improved to eightieth in 2023 and 2024, dropping again to the eighty-fifth spot currently. At the same time, countries allowing visa-free travel for Indians increased from 52 in 2015 to 60 in 2023 and 62 in 2024.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

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 for both these years remains at eighty-fifth. What explains this situation?

Experts say that a major reason involves growing competition in global mobility – meaning countries are forming more travel partnerships to benefit their citizens and economic growth. According to recent analysis, the worldwide mean count of countries people can visit visa-free has almost doubled from 58 in 2006 to one hundred nine currently.

As an illustration, The Chinese passport has increased its count of visa-free countries its citizens can travel to from 50 to 82 in the past decade. Consequently, its rank on the index has improved from 94th to 60th during the same time period.

Meanwhile, India – previously positioned at seventy-seventh place during summer – fell to eighty-fifth place this autumn following the loss of two nations.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

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

For example, the US passport has dropped out of the top 10 currently holding the 12th position – its lowest ever – due to its increasingly insular stance in global affairs.

The former ambassador mentioned how in the 1970s, Indian citizens had visa-free access to many Western and European countries, though this shifted following Sikh separatist movement during the eighties. Later political disturbances have further chipped away at India's image as a stable, democratic country.

"Many countries are growing increasingly wary of immigrants," the diplomat added. "The country possesses a high number of citizens emigrating to other countries or overstaying their visas affecting the national image."

Elements like the security level of a national passport and its immigration procedures also contribute to obtaining visa-free entry to other countries.

Security and Technological Improvements

India's passport remains vulnerable to security risks. Last year, law enforcement arrested 203 people for alleged visa and passport fraud. The country also has complex immigration processes with lengthy timelines of visa processing.

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

But, increased diplomatic efforts and travel agreements continue essential to boosting the global mobility of Indians and, by extension, India's passport ranking.