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In recent months, an online clip from a popular travel content creator complaining about the limited power of the Indian passport went viral on social media.

He mentioned that while nearby nations like Bhutan and Sri Lanka offered easier access to Indian tourists, securing travel permits for visiting most Western and European countries remained a challenge.

This dissatisfaction regarding India's poor passport strength found confirmation in recent Henley Passport Index, ranking the country in the 85th spot among nearly two hundred nations, a decline of five positions compared to the previous year.

Officials in India has not commented on the report yet.

Countries including Rwanda, Ghana and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size than India – which 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 remained in the 80s, falling to the 90th spot two years ago. These rankings are dismal when measured against other Asian countries like Singapore, Japan and South Korea, all maintaining leading ranks.

Global Passport Power Indicates

The power of a passport indicates a nation's soft power and international standing. This leads to enhanced travel freedom for passport holders, improving commercial and educational prospects. A weak passport means additional documentation, higher visa costs, reduced travel benefits and extended processing periods when journeying.

But despite the drop in position, the count of nations offering visa-free access for Indian citizens has actually increased over the last ten years.

As an instance, in 2014 – the year the current administration's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power – fifty-two nations offered visa-free access to Indians with the passport at seventy-sixth position in the ranking.

The following year, it tumbled to the 85th position, then rose to eightieth over the past two years, dropping again to the eighty-fifth spot this year. At the same time, visa-free destinations for Indians increased from 52 in 2015 to 60 in 2023 and 62 in 2024.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The number of nations allowing visa-free entry in 2025 (57) is higher than the number eight years ago (52), but India's rank for both these years remains at eighty-fifth. What explains this situation?

Analysts note that a major reason involves growing competition in global mobility – indicating that nations are entering into additional travel agreements to benefit their citizens and economic growth. As per a 2025 report, the worldwide mean count of countries people can visit without visas has nearly doubled from 58 in 2006 to one hundred nine currently.

As an illustration, China has increased the number of visa-free destinations available to its citizens from fifty to eighty-two in the past decade. Consequently, its position in the ranking has enhanced from 94th to 60th during the same time period.

Meanwhile, India – previously positioned 77th on the index in July – dropped to the 85th position this autumn after losing access of two nations.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

An ex-diplomat from India says multiple elements influencing the strength of a country's passport, including economic and political conditions as well as its openness to welcoming citizens from other countries.

For example, the American passport has fallen of the top 10 and now occupies twelfth place – a historic low – due to its increasingly insular stance in world politics.

The diplomat recalls how in the 1970s, Indian citizens had visa-free access to numerous European and Western nations, though this shifted following Khalistan movement during the eighties. Subsequent political upheavals have continued to damage at India's image as a stable democracy.

"Many countries are growing more cautious regarding migrants," he stated. "India has a high number of people migrating to other countries or overstaying their visas and that interferes with the country's reputation."

Elements like the security level a country's passport is and immigration processes also play a role to obtaining visa-free access to foreign nations.

Security and Technological Improvements

The Indian passport faces ongoing security risks. In 2024, authorities arrested 203 people for suspected visa and passport fraud. India is also known for complex immigration processes with lengthy timelines of visa processing.

The former ambassador says that technological advances, like India's recently-launched electronic passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and streamline immigration. This electronic document contains a microchip that stores biometric data, making it harder to forge or tamper with the document.

But, more diplomatic outreach and travel partnerships remain key to boosting the global mobility for Indian citizens and, by extension, the Indian passport's global position.