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Earlier this year, a video from a popular travel content creator expressing frustration over the limited power of the Indian passport went viral across digital platforms.

He mentioned that while neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka and Bhutan were more welcoming of travelers from India, securing travel permits for visiting most Western and European countries remained a challenge.

Such concerns regarding the limited global access of Indian passports was reflected in recent Henley Passport Index, ranking India in the 85th spot out of 199 countries, five spots lower than last year.

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

Countries like Rwanda, Ghana and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size than India – a nation that is the world's fifth biggest economy – are ranked higher in the ranking in the seventies range, respectively.

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

What Passport Strength Indicates

Passport strength indicates a nation's soft power and international standing. This leads to enhanced travel freedom for its citizens, improving commercial and educational prospects. Limited passport power means more paperwork, increased visa expenses, reduced travel benefits and extended processing periods when journeying.

But despite the decline in the rank, the number of countries offering visa-free access to Indians has actually increased in the past decade or so.

For example, eight years ago – the year the current administration's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power – 52 countries offered visa-free access to Indians with the passport at seventy-sixth position on the index.

A year later, 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, visa-free destinations for Indians grew from 52 in 2015 to sixty last year 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 (fifty-two), yet India's rank during both periods is 85. So, why is that?

Analysts note that a major reason involves growing competition in international travel – indicating that countries are forming more travel partnerships for their populations' advantage and economic growth. According to recent analysis, the worldwide mean count of countries people can visit without visas has almost doubled from 58 in 2006 to 109 in 2025.

For example, China has expanded its count of visa-free destinations its citizens can travel to from 50 to 82 over the last ten years. Consequently, its position in the ranking has enhanced from 94th to 60th during the same time period.

Meanwhile, The Indian passport – previously positioned 77th on the index during summer – dropped to the 85th position this autumn following the loss of two nations.

Other Influences Affecting Passport Strength

A former Indian ambassador says multiple elements influencing the strength of a country's passport, like its economic and political stability as well as its receptiveness to accepting travelers from abroad.

For example, the American passport has fallen from the top ten and now occupies twelfth place – a historic low – due to its increasingly insular stance in global affairs.

The former ambassador mentioned how in the 1970s, Indian citizens had visa-free travel to many Western and European countries, but that changed after the Khalistan movement during the eighties. Later political disturbances have continued to damage the country's reputation as a stable, democratic country.

"Numerous nations are growing increasingly wary regarding migrants," he stated. "India has a large quantity of people migrating to other countries or overstaying their visas and that interferes with the country's reputation."

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

Enhanced Security Measures

India's passport faces ongoing security risks. Last year, authorities arrested over two hundred individuals for alleged visa and passport fraud. India is also known for cumbersome immigration procedures and a slow pace for visa approvals.

The former ambassador says that new technologies, such as the newly introduced digital passport or e-passport, can improve security and ease the immigration process. The e-passport includes a small chip that stores biometric data, increasing difficulty to counterfeit or alter the document.

However, increased diplomatic efforts and travel partnerships remain key for enhancing international travel freedom of Indians and, by extension, India's passport ranking.