🔗 Share this article

Earlier this year, an online clip by a popular travel content creator expressing frustration over the limited power of the Indian passport gained massive traction on social media.

He mentioned that while nearby nations like Bhutan and Sri Lanka were more welcoming of Indian tourists, securing travel permits for visiting most Western and European countries remained a challenge.

This dissatisfaction with the limited global access of Indian passports found confirmation in recent global passport ranking, ranking the country in the 85th spot out of nearly two hundred nations, a decline of five positions compared to the previous year.

Officials in India has not commented on the report yet.

Nations including Rwanda, Ghana and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size compared to India – a nation that is the world's fifth biggest economy – are ranked higher on the index at the 78th, 74th and 72nd spots, in that order.

Actually, India's rank over the last ten years has remained in the 80s, even dipping to the 90th spot in 2021. Such standings are dismal when measured against other Asian countries like Japan, South Korea and Singapore, which have consistently held leading ranks.

Global Passport Power Measures

Passport strength indicates a country's global influence and international standing. This leads to better mobility for its citizens, boosting business and educational prospects. Limited passport power results in more paperwork, higher visa costs, fewer travel privileges and extended processing periods for travel.

However, even with the decline in the rank, the count of nations offering visa-free access to Indians has grown in the past decade or so.

For example, in 2014 – the year the current administration's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) assumed office – 52 countries provided visa-free travel to Indians and its passport at seventy-sixth position on the index.

The following year, it tumbled to the 85th position, then rose to 80th over the past two years, declining once more to the eighty-fifth spot currently. Meanwhile, countries allowing visa-free travel for Indians grew from fifty-two eight years ago to sixty last year and sixty-two this year.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The number of nations allowing visa-free entry in 2025 (fifty-seven) is higher than what it was eight years ago (fifty-two), yet India's rank during both periods is 85. What explains this situation?

Experts say that a major reason involves growing competition in global mobility – meaning nations are entering into additional travel agreements for their populations' advantage and their economies. According to a 2025 report, the global average count of countries people can visit without visas has nearly doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to one hundred nine currently.

As an illustration, China has expanded the number of visa-free destinations its citizens can travel to from fifty to eighty-two in the past decade. Consequently, its rank on the index has improved from 94th to 60th in that same duration.

In comparison, The Indian passport – which was ranked at seventy-seventh place in July – dropped to eighty-fifth place in October after losing access to two countries.

Additional Factors Affecting Passport Strength

An ex-diplomat from India says there are other factors that affect the strength of a country's passport, including economic and political conditions plus its receptiveness to accepting travelers from other countries.

For example, the US passport has fallen of the top 10 and now occupies twelfth place – a historic low – because of its increasingly insular stance in global affairs.

The diplomat recalls how in the 1970s, Indian citizens had visa-free travel to numerous European and Western nations, though this shifted following Khalistan movement during the eighties. Later political disturbances have further chipped away at India's image as a stable democracy.

"Numerous nations are also becoming more cautious regarding migrants," the diplomat added. "India has a large quantity of citizens emigrating overseas or overstaying their visas and that interferes with the country's reputation."

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

Enhanced Security Measures

The Indian passport faces ongoing security threats. In 2024, authorities detained over two hundred individuals for suspected passport and visa irregularities. India is also known for complex immigration processes with lengthy timelines for visa approvals.

The former ambassador indicated that technological advances, such as the newly introduced digital passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and ease the immigration process. The e-passport includes a small chip that stores biometric data, making it harder to counterfeit or alter the passport.

But, more diplomatic outreach and travel agreements continue essential to boosting international travel freedom of Indians and consequently, the Indian passport's global position.