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In recent months, an online clip by an Indian travel influencer expressing frustration over India's weak passport gained massive traction on social media.

He mentioned although neighbouring countries such as Sri Lanka and Bhutan offered easier access to travelers from India, obtaining visas for visiting most Western and European countries remained a challenge.

This dissatisfaction with India's poor passport strength was reflected in the latest Henley Passport Index, ranking the country in the 85th spot out of nearly two hundred nations, five spots lower compared to the previous year.

Officials in India has not commented on the report so far.

Countries like Rwanda, Ghana and Azerbaijan with much smaller economies than India – a nation that is the world's fifth biggest economy – are ranked higher on the index at the 78th, 74th and 72nd spots, respectively.

In fact, the country's position in the past decade has remained in the 80s, even dipping to the 90th spot in 2021. These rankings appear poor when measured against other Asian countries such as Singapore, Japan and South Korea, which have consistently held leading ranks.

What Passport Strength Measures

The power of a passport reflects a country's global influence and global influence. This leads to better mobility for its citizens, boosting business and learning opportunities. A weak passport results in additional documentation, increased visa expenses, reduced travel benefits and extended processing periods when journeying.

But despite the drop in position, the number of countries providing visa-free travel to Indians has actually increased in the past decade or so.

As an instance, eight years ago – the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party came to power – 52 countries offered visa-free travel to Indians with the passport at seventy-sixth position on the index.

A year later, it fell to eighty-fifth place, then rose to eightieth over the past two years, dropping again to the eighty-fifth spot currently. Meanwhile, visa-free destinations to Indian citizens increased from 52 in 2015 to sixty last year and sixty-two this year.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The number of visa-free destinations in 2025 (57) is higher than the number eight years ago (fifty-two), yet India's rank during both periods remains at eighty-fifth. So, why is that?

Analysts note that a primary factor is the increasingly competitive landscape in global mobility – meaning countries are forming additional travel agreements for their populations' advantage and their economies. According to recent analysis, the worldwide mean number of destinations travellers are able to access without visas has almost doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to one hundred nine currently.

As an illustration, The Chinese passport has increased the number of visa-free countries 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.

Meanwhile, India – previously positioned at seventy-seventh place during summer – dropped to eighty-fifth place in October after losing access of two nations.

Additional Factors Affecting Passport Strength

A former Indian ambassador says there are other factors influencing a nation's passport power, like its economic and political stability plus its receptiveness to accepting travelers from abroad.

For example, the US passport has fallen of the top 10 currently holding twelfth place – its lowest ever – due to its increasingly insular stance in global affairs.

The diplomat recalls how in the 1970s, Indians enjoyed visa-free travel to numerous European and Western nations, but that changed after the Khalistan movement during the eighties. Subsequent political upheavals have further chipped away the country's reputation as a stable, democratic country.

"Numerous nations are growing more cautious regarding migrants," the diplomat added. "The country possesses a large quantity of citizens emigrating to other countries or remaining beyond visa limits and that interferes with the country's reputation."

Factors like how secure a country's passport is and its immigration procedures 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 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 diplomat says that technological advances, like India's recently-launched digital passport or e-passport, can improve security and streamline immigration. The e-passport contains a small chip that stores biometric information, increasing difficulty to counterfeit or alter the document.

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