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In recent months, a video by an Indian travel influencer expressing frustration over India's weak passport went viral on social media.

The influencer stated that while nearby nations like Bhutan and Sri Lanka offered easier access to travelers from India, securing travel permits to travel to many nations in Europe and the West continued to be difficult.

This dissatisfaction with India's poor passport strength found confirmation in the latest global passport ranking, which placed India in the 85th spot among 199 countries, a decline of five positions compared to the previous year.

Officials in India have not issued a statement regarding these findings yet.

Nations like Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size compared to India – which is the fifth-largest economy globally – are ranked higher on the index at the 78th, 74th and 72nd spots, in that order.

In fact, the country's position in the past decade has hovered in the 80s, falling to the 90th spot two years ago. These rankings are dismal when measured against other Asian countries like Japan, South Korea and Singapore, which have consistently held top positions.

Global Passport Power Indicates

The power of a passport indicates a country's global influence and global influence. This leads to enhanced travel freedom for its citizens, boosting business and learning opportunities. Limited passport power means additional documentation, increased visa expenses, fewer travel privileges and longer waiting times for travel.

But despite the decline in the rank, the count of nations providing visa-free travel to Indians has actually increased over the last ten years.

As an instance, eight years ago – the year the current administration's ruling party assumed office – fifty-two nations offered visa-free travel to Indians with the passport ranked 76th on the index.

The following year, it fell to eighty-fifth place, then improved to 80th over the past two years, declining once more to the eighty-fifth spot currently. At the same time, countries allowing visa-free travel to Indian citizens grew from 52 in 2015 to 60 in 2023 and 62 in 2024.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The count of nations allowing visa-free entry this year (fifty-seven) is higher than what it was eight years ago (52), yet India's rank for both these years is 85. What explains this situation?

Analysts note that a major reason involves growing competition in global mobility – indicating that nations are forming additional travel agreements for their populations' advantage and economic growth. As per a 2025 report, the worldwide mean number of destinations travellers are able to access visa-free has nearly doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to one hundred nine currently.

As an illustration, China has expanded its count of visa-free countries available to its citizens from fifty to eighty-two over the last ten years. As a result, its rank on the index has enhanced from 94th to 60th in that same duration.

Meanwhile, India – which was ranked at seventy-seventh place during summer – dropped to the 85th position in October after losing access to two countries.

Other Influences Impacting Passport Power

A former Indian ambassador notes multiple elements influencing the strength of a country's passport, including economic and political conditions as well as its receptiveness to accepting travelers from other countries.

For instance, the American passport has fallen from the top ten currently holding twelfth place – a historic low – due to its increasingly insular stance in world politics.

The diplomat mentioned how in the 1970s, Indians enjoyed visa-free travel to many Western and European countries, but that changed after the Sikh separatist movement in the 1980s. Subsequent political upheavals have continued to damage the country's reputation as a stable democracy.

"Numerous nations are growing more cautious regarding migrants," he stated. "The country possesses a large quantity of people migrating overseas or overstaying their visas and that interferes with the national image."

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

Enhanced Security Measures

India's passport remains vulnerable to security threats. In 2024, law enforcement detained 203 people for suspected passport and visa irregularities. India is also known for complex immigration processes and a slow pace for visa approvals.

The diplomat says that new technologies, like India's recently-launched digital passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and streamline immigration. The e-passport contains a small chip holding biometric information, making it harder to forge or tamper with the document.

But, increased diplomatic efforts and travel partnerships continue essential to boosting the global mobility for Indian citizens and consequently, India's passport ranking.