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Earlier this year, an online clip from a popular travel content creator expressing frustration over the limited power of the Indian passport gained massive traction across digital platforms.

He mentioned that while neighbouring countries like Bhutan and Sri Lanka were more welcoming to Indian tourists, securing travel permits to travel to most Western and European countries continued to be difficult.

This dissatisfaction with India's poor passport strength found confirmation in recent Henley Passport Index, which placed India in the 85th spot out of nearly two hundred nations, five spots lower compared to the previous year.

The Indian government has not commented on the report yet.

Nations like Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size compared to India – a nation that is the fifth-largest economy globally – hold better positions on the index at the 78th, 74th and 72nd spots, respectively.

Actually, India's rank over the last ten years has remained around the eighties, even dipping to the 90th spot two years ago. Such standings are dismal when measured against Asian nations like Japan, South Korea and Singapore, which have consistently held top positions.

What Passport Strength 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 means more paperwork, higher visa costs, fewer travel privileges and longer waiting times for travel.

However, even with the decline in the rank, the number of countries offering visa-free access for Indian citizens has grown over the last ten years.

For example, in 2014 – when Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power – 52 countries offered visa-free travel for Indian passport holders with the passport ranked 76th in the ranking.

The following year, it tumbled to eighty-fifth place, then rose to 80th over the past two years, declining once more to the eighty-fifth spot currently. Meanwhile, visa-free destinations for Indians grew from fifty-two eight years ago to sixty last year and sixty-two this year.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The count of visa-free destinations 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 primary factor involves growing competition 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 without visas has almost doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to 109 in 2025.

For example, The Chinese passport has increased its count of visa-free destinations its citizens can travel to from 50 to 82 in the past decade. As a result, its position on the index has improved from 94th to 60th in that same duration.

Meanwhile, The Indian passport – previously positioned 77th on the index during summer – dropped to the 85th position this autumn following the loss to two countries.

Additional Factors Affecting Passport Strength

An ex-diplomat from India says there are other factors influencing a nation's passport power, like its economic and political stability plus its receptiveness to accepting travelers from abroad.

For example, the American 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 diplomat mentioned that during the seventies, Indian citizens had visa-free access to numerous European and Western nations, though this shifted after the Khalistan movement during the eighties. Later political disturbances have continued to damage at India's image as a stable democracy.

"Numerous nations are growing more cautious of immigrants," he stated. "The country possesses a high number of citizens emigrating overseas or overstaying their visas affecting the national image."

Factors like the security level of a national passport and its immigration procedures also contribute in gaining visa-free access to foreign nations.

Enhanced Security Measures

India's passport remains vulnerable to security risks. Last year, authorities detained over two hundred individuals for alleged visa and passport fraud. The country also has cumbersome immigration procedures and a slow pace for visa approvals.

The former ambassador indicated that technological advances, such as the newly introduced electronic passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and streamline immigration. The e-passport contains a small chip holding biometric data, increasing difficulty to counterfeit or alter the passport.

However, more diplomatic outreach and travel agreements remain key for enhancing the global mobility of Indians and, by extension, the Indian passport's global position.