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Earlier this year, a video by an Indian travel influencer expressing frustration over the limited power of the Indian passport went viral across digital platforms.

He mentioned that while neighbouring countries like Bhutan and Sri Lanka were more welcoming of travelers from India, securing travel permits for visiting many nations in Europe and the West remained a challenge.

Such concerns regarding India's poor passport strength found confirmation in recent Henley Passport Index, ranking the country at position eighty-five among nearly two hundred nations, a decline of five positions compared to the previous year.

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

Countries including Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size compared to India – which is the world's fifth biggest economy – hold better positions in the ranking at the 78th, 74th and 72nd spots, respectively.

Actually, India's rank in the past decade has remained in the 80s, even dipping to the 90th spot two years ago. These rankings appear poor compared to other Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore, all maintaining top positions.

What Passport Strength Measures

Passport strength reflects a nation's soft power and international standing. This leads to enhanced travel freedom for passport holders, improving commercial and educational prospects. Limited passport power results in additional documentation, higher visa costs, fewer travel privileges and longer waiting times for travel.

However, even with the decline in the rank, 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 the current administration's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power – 52 countries provided visa-free access to Indians with the passport ranked 76th on the index.

The following year, it tumbled to eighty-fifth place, then rose to 80th over the past two years, declining once more to the 85th position currently. At the same time, visa-free destinations for Indians increased from 52 in 2015 to 60 in 2023 and sixty-two this year.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The count of nations allowing visa-free entry this year (fifty-seven) exceeds what it was in 2015 (fifty-two), yet India's rank during both periods remains at eighty-fifth. So, why is that?

Analysts note that a primary factor involves growing competition in international travel – meaning countries are entering into additional travel agreements for their populations' advantage and economic growth. According to a 2025 report, the global average number of destinations people can visit without visas has nearly doubled from 58 in 2006 to 109 in 2025.

As an illustration, The Chinese passport has expanded the number of visa-free countries its citizens can travel to from fifty to eighty-two over the last ten years. As a result, its rank on the index has improved from ninety-fourth to sixtieth in that same duration.

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

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

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

For example, the American passport has fallen of the top 10 currently holding the 12th position – its lowest ever – due to its increasingly insular stance in global affairs.

The diplomat mentioned that during the seventies, Indian citizens had visa-free access to many Western and European countries, but that changed after the Khalistan movement in the 1980s. Subsequent political upheavals have continued to damage at India's image as a stable, democratic country.

"Numerous nations are growing more cautious regarding migrants," he stated. "India has a large quantity of people migrating overseas or remaining beyond visa limits affecting the national image."

Factors such as the security level a country's passport is and immigration processes also contribute in gaining visa-free entry to foreign nations.

Enhanced Security Measures

The Indian passport faces ongoing security risks. Last year, 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 indicated that technological advances, like India's recently-launched digital passport or e-passport, can improve security and streamline immigration. This electronic document includes a microchip holding biometric information, increasing difficulty to forge or tamper with the document.

But, increased diplomatic efforts and travel partnerships continue essential to boosting international travel freedom of Indians and, by extension, India's passport ranking.