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Earlier this year, a video from an Indian travel influencer expressing frustration over the limited power of the Indian passport went viral on social media.

The influencer stated 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.

Such concerns with the limited global access of Indian passports found confirmation in the latest global passport ranking, which placed the country in the 85th spot among nearly two hundred nations, a decline of five positions than last year.

Officials in India have not issued a statement on the report so far.

Nations like Rwanda, Ghana and Azerbaijan with much smaller economies compared to India – a nation that 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 around the eighties, falling to ninetieth place two years ago. These rankings appear poor when measured against Asian nations such as Singapore, Japan and South Korea, all maintaining top positions.

Global Passport Power Measures

The power of a passport indicates a nation's soft power and global influence. It also translates into enhanced travel freedom for its citizens, boosting business and educational prospects. A weak passport results in additional documentation, higher visa costs, reduced travel benefits and longer waiting times for travel.

However, even with the drop in position, the number of countries providing visa-free travel for Indian citizens has actually increased in the past decade or so.

As an instance, in 2014 – when the current administration's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) assumed office – 52 countries offered visa-free access for Indian passport holders and its passport ranked 76th in the ranking.

A year later, it tumbled to eighty-fifth place, then improved to 80th in 2023 and 2024, declining once more to the 85th position this year. Meanwhile, countries allowing visa-free travel for Indians 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 in 2015 (52), but India's rank during both periods is 85. What explains this situation?

Analysts note that a major reason is the increasingly competitive landscape in global mobility – indicating that countries are entering into more travel partnerships to benefit their citizens and their economies. As per recent analysis, the worldwide mean count of countries people can visit visa-free has nearly doubled from 58 in 2006 to one hundred nine currently.

As an illustration, The Chinese passport has expanded its count of visa-free destinations available to its citizens from 50 to 82 in the past decade. Consequently, its rank in the ranking has improved from ninety-fourth to sixtieth in that same duration.

Meanwhile, The Indian passport – which was ranked at seventy-seventh place in July – dropped to the 85th position this autumn after losing access to two countries.

Additional Factors Affecting Passport Strength

A former Indian ambassador says there are other factors that affect a nation's passport power, like economic and political conditions as well as its receptiveness to welcoming citizens from abroad.

For instance, the American passport has fallen from the top ten and now occupies the 12th position – a historic low – due to its increasingly insular stance in world politics.

The diplomat recalls that during the seventies, Indians enjoyed visa-free access to numerous European and Western nations, but that changed after the Sikh separatist movement in the 1980s. Subsequent political upheavals have continued to damage at India's image as a stable, democratic country.

"Numerous nations are also becoming more cautious of immigrants," he stated. "India has a large quantity of people migrating overseas or overstaying their visas affecting the country's reputation."

Elements like how secure a country's passport is and its immigration procedures also contribute to obtaining visa-free access to foreign nations.

Security and Technological Improvements

India's passport remains vulnerable to security risks. Last year, law enforcement detained over two hundred individuals for suspected visa and passport fraud. The country also has complex immigration processes and a slow pace for visa approvals.

The diplomat indicated that technological advances, such as the newly introduced digital passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and ease the immigration process. The e-passport includes a microchip holding biometric data, increasing difficulty to forge or tamper with the passport.

But, increased diplomatic efforts and travel agreements remain key for enhancing the global mobility of Indians and consequently, India's passport ranking.