Earlier this year, a video by a popular travel content creator complaining about India's weak passport gained massive traction across digital platforms.
He mentioned that while nearby nations like Sri Lanka and Bhutan were more welcoming of Indian tourists, obtaining visas for visiting many nations in Europe and the West continued to be difficult.
Such concerns with the limited global access of Indian passports was reflected in recent Henley Passport Index, ranking India in the 85th spot among 199 countries, a decline of five positions than last year.
The Indian government have not issued a statement regarding these findings so far.
Countries including Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size than India – which is the world's fifth biggest economy – hold better positions in the ranking in the seventies range, respectively.
In fact, the country's position in the past decade has remained around the eighties, even dipping to ninetieth place in 2021. These rankings appear poor compared to Asian nations such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore, which have consistently held leading ranks.
The power of a passport reflects a nation's soft power and global influence. This leads to better mobility for its citizens, boosting business and educational prospects. A weak passport results in more paperwork, increased visa expenses, fewer travel privileges and extended processing periods when journeying.
However, even with the drop in position, the count of nations providing visa-free travel to Indians has grown over the last ten years.
As an instance, in 2014 – the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power – 52 countries offered visa-free access for Indian passport holders with the passport ranked 76th on the index.
The following year, it tumbled to eighty-fifth place, then improved to eightieth over the past two years, declining once more to the 85th position currently. At the same time, countries allowing visa-free travel for Indians grew from 52 in 2015 to 60 in 2023 and 62 in 2024.
The count of visa-free destinations this year (57) is higher than the number eight years ago (52), yet the country's position for both these years remains at eighty-fifth. What explains this situation?
Analysts note that a primary factor is the increasingly competitive landscape in global mobility – meaning nations are entering into additional travel agreements for their populations' advantage and their economies. As per recent analysis, the worldwide mean number of destinations travellers are able to access without visas has almost doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to 109 in 2025.
As an illustration, China has increased the number of visa-free destinations available to its citizens from 50 to 82 in the past decade. Consequently, its position in the ranking has improved from 94th to 60th during the same time period.
In comparison, India – which was ranked at seventy-seventh place in July – dropped to eighty-fifth place in October after losing access to two countries.
An ex-diplomat from India says there are other factors influencing a nation's passport power, like economic and political conditions plus its openness to welcoming citizens from abroad.
For example, the US passport has fallen of the top 10 currently holding the 12th position – its lowest ever – due to its increasingly insular stance in world politics.
The diplomat recalls how in the 1970s, Indians enjoyed visa-free access to many Western and European countries, 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 regarding migrants," he stated. "India has a large quantity of people migrating overseas or overstaying their visas affecting the country's reputation."
Elements like how secure of a national passport and immigration processes also play a role to obtaining visa-free access to foreign nations.
India's passport remains vulnerable to security threats. In 2024, authorities arrested 203 people for alleged passport and visa irregularities. India is also known for complex immigration processes with lengthy timelines for visa approvals.
The former ambassador indicated that technological advances, such as the newly introduced digital passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and streamline immigration. The e-passport contains a microchip holding biometric data, making it harder to forge or tamper with the passport.
But, increased diplomatic efforts and travel agreements remain key to boosting international travel freedom of Indians and, by extension, India's passport ranking.
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