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Earlier this year, an online clip from an Indian travel influencer expressing frustration over the limited power of the Indian passport gained massive traction on social media.

The influencer stated that while nearby nations such as Sri Lanka and Bhutan were more welcoming to travelers from India, securing travel permits to travel to most Western and European countries continued to be difficult.

This dissatisfaction regarding India's poor passport strength was reflected in the latest Henley Passport Index, ranking India in the 85th spot among nearly two hundred nations, a decline of five positions than last year.

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

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

Actually, India's rank over the last ten years has hovered around the eighties, even dipping to ninetieth place two years ago. Such standings are dismal compared to Asian nations such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore, which have consistently held top positions.

What Passport Strength Measures

Passport strength indicates a country's global influence and international standing. This leads to enhanced travel freedom for passport holders, improving commercial and educational prospects. Limited passport power results in more paperwork, increased visa expenses, reduced travel benefits and extended processing periods for travel.

But despite the decline in the rank, the number of countries providing visa-free travel for Indian citizens has actually increased over the last ten years.

For example, eight years ago – the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power – 52 countries offered visa-free travel to Indians and its passport ranked 76th on the index.

A year later, it fell to eighty-fifth place, then rose to eightieth in 2023 and 2024, declining once more to the eighty-fifth spot this year. Meanwhile, countries allowing visa-free travel for Indians increased from 52 in 2015 to 60 in 2023 and 62 in 2024.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The count of visa-free destinations in 2025 (fifty-seven) is higher than the number eight years ago (fifty-two), but India's rank for both these years is 85. What explains this situation?

Experts say that a major reason is the increasingly competitive landscape in global mobility – meaning countries are entering into more travel partnerships to benefit their citizens and their economies. According to 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, The Chinese passport has increased its count of visa-free destinations available to its citizens from 50 to 82 in the past decade. Consequently, its position on the index has enhanced from ninety-fourth to sixtieth during the same time period.

Meanwhile, India – which was ranked at seventy-seventh place in July – dropped to the 85th position in October following the loss of two nations.

Other Influences Impacting Passport Power

An ex-diplomat from India says there are other factors that affect the strength of a country's passport, like economic and political conditions plus its receptiveness to welcoming citizens from abroad.

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

"Numerous nations are also becoming increasingly wary regarding migrants," he stated. "India has a large quantity of citizens emigrating to other countries or remaining beyond visa limits and that interferes with the national image."

Elements such as the security level of a national passport and immigration processes also contribute to obtaining visa-free access to foreign nations.

Security and Technological Improvements

The Indian passport remains vulnerable to security risks. Last year, law enforcement arrested 203 people for alleged passport and visa irregularities. The country also has cumbersome immigration procedures with lengthy timelines of visa processing.

The diplomat indicated that technological advances, like India's recently-launched digital passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and ease the immigration process. This electronic document contains a microchip that stores biometric data, increasing difficulty to counterfeit or alter the document.

However, more diplomatic outreach and travel partnerships continue essential for enhancing the global mobility of Indians and, by extension, India's passport ranking.