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In recent months, an online clip by an Indian travel influencer expressing frustration over the limited power of the Indian passport went viral on social media.

He mentioned although neighbouring countries like Bhutan and Sri Lanka offered easier access to travelers from India, obtaining visas for visiting most Western and European countries continued to be difficult.

This dissatisfaction regarding India's poor passport strength was reflected in recent global passport ranking, which placed the country in the 85th spot out of nearly two hundred nations, a decline of five positions compared to the previous year.

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

Nations like Rwanda, Ghana and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size than India – which is the fifth-largest economy globally – hold better positions in the ranking in the seventies range, respectively.

Actually, the country's position in the past decade has hovered around the eighties, falling to the 90th spot in 2021. These rankings appear poor when measured against other Asian countries like Japan, South Korea and Singapore, all maintaining leading ranks.

Global Passport Power Indicates

The power of a passport indicates a country's global influence and international standing. This leads to better mobility for passport holders, improving commercial and learning opportunities. A weak passport results in more paperwork, higher visa costs, reduced travel benefits and extended processing periods when journeying.

However, even with the decline in the rank, the count of nations offering visa-free access for Indian citizens has grown in the past decade or so.

For example, in 2014 – the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power – fifty-two nations provided visa-free access for Indian passport holders and its passport at seventy-sixth position on the index.

The following year, it tumbled to the 85th position, then rose to 80th in 2023 and 2024, declining once more to the 85th position this year. Meanwhile, countries allowing visa-free travel to Indian citizens grew from fifty-two eight years ago to sixty last year and sixty-two this year.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The count of visa-free destinations in 2025 (fifty-seven) is higher than what it was in 2015 (52), but India's rank during both periods is 85. What explains this situation?

Analysts note that a major reason involves growing competition in global mobility – meaning countries are entering into more travel partnerships for their populations' advantage and economic growth. As per 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.

For example, The Chinese passport has expanded the number of visa-free countries its citizens can travel to from fifty to eighty-two in the past decade. Consequently, its position on the index has improved from 94th to 60th in that same duration.

Meanwhile, India – previously positioned at seventy-seventh place in July – dropped to the 85th position this autumn following the loss to two countries.

Additional Factors Affecting Passport Strength

A former Indian ambassador says there are other factors that affect the strength of a country's passport, like its economic and political stability as well as its openness to accepting travelers from other countries.

For instance, the US passport has dropped out from the top ten and now occupies twelfth place – a historic low – due to its more inward-looking approach in global affairs.

The former ambassador mentioned how in the 1970s, Indians enjoyed visa-free access to many Western and European countries, but that changed after the Khalistan movement during the eighties. 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. "India has a large quantity of citizens emigrating to other countries or overstaying their visas and that interferes with the national image."

Factors like the security level a country's passport is and its immigration procedures also play a role in gaining visa-free entry to other countries.

Security and Technological Improvements

India's passport faces ongoing security threats. Last year, law enforcement arrested 203 people for suspected visa and passport fraud. India is also known for complex immigration processes with lengthy timelines for visa approvals.

The former ambassador says that technological advances, like India's recently-launched electronic passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and ease the immigration process. The e-passport includes a small chip holding biometric information, making it harder to counterfeit or alter the document.

However, more diplomatic outreach and travel partnerships remain key for enhancing the global mobility for Indian citizens and, by extension, India's passport ranking.