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In recent months, a video from an Indian travel influencer expressing frustration over India's weak passport went viral on social media.

The influencer stated that while nearby nations like Sri Lanka and Bhutan offered easier access to Indian tourists, securing travel permits for visiting most Western and European countries remained a challenge.

Such concerns with India's poor passport strength was reflected in the latest global passport ranking, which placed India in the 85th spot out of nearly two hundred nations, a decline of five positions compared to the previous year.

The Indian government have not issued a statement on the report so far.

Nations like Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan with much smaller economies compared to India – which is the fifth-largest economy globally – hold better positions on the index at the 78th, 74th and 72nd spots, respectively.

In fact, the country's position in the past decade has remained in the 80s, even dipping to the 90th spot two years ago. These rankings are dismal compared to other Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore, which have consistently held top positions.

What Passport Strength Indicates

The power of a passport reflects a nation's soft power and global influence. It also translates into enhanced travel freedom for its citizens, improving commercial and learning opportunities. Limited passport power results in more paperwork, higher visa costs, fewer travel privileges and longer waiting times when journeying.

But despite the decline in the rank, the number of countries providing visa-free travel to Indians has grown 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 in the ranking.

A year later, it fell to the 85th position, then rose to eightieth in 2023 and 2024, declining once more to the eighty-fifth spot this year. Meanwhile, visa-free destinations to Indian citizens grew from 52 in 2015 to 60 in 2023 and 62 in 2024.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The count of nations allowing visa-free entry in 2025 (57) is higher than what it was eight years ago (fifty-two), but the country's position during both periods remains at eighty-fifth. So, why is that?

Analysts note that a major reason is the increasingly competitive landscape in international travel – meaning countries are entering into additional travel agreements to benefit their citizens and their economies. As per recent analysis, the worldwide mean number of destinations travellers are able to access visa-free has almost doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to one hundred nine currently.

For example, The Chinese passport has increased the number of visa-free countries available to its citizens from 50 to 82 in the past decade. Consequently, its position in the ranking has enhanced from 94th to 60th during the same time period.

Meanwhile, India – which was ranked at seventy-seventh place in July – fell to eighty-fifth place this autumn following the loss to two countries.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

A former Indian ambassador says multiple elements 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 US passport has fallen of the top 10 currently holding twelfth place – a historic low – because of its increasingly insular stance in world politics.

The diplomat mentioned that during the seventies, Indian citizens had visa-free travel to many Western and European countries, but that changed after the Sikh separatist movement in the 1980s. Subsequent political upheavals have further chipped away the country's reputation as a stable democracy.

"Numerous nations are also becoming more cautious regarding migrants," he stated. "The country possesses a high number of people migrating overseas or overstaying their visas and that interferes with the country's reputation."

Factors like the security level a country's passport is and immigration processes also play a role in gaining visa-free access to foreign nations.

Enhanced Security Measures

India's passport faces ongoing security threats. Last year, authorities arrested over two hundred individuals for alleged passport and visa irregularities. India is also known for cumbersome immigration procedures with lengthy timelines for visa approvals.

The diplomat indicated that new technologies, such as the newly introduced digital passport or e-passport, can improve security and ease the immigration process. This electronic document includes a microchip that stores biometric data, making it harder to forge or tamper with the passport.

However, increased diplomatic efforts and travel agreements remain key to boosting international travel freedom of Indians and consequently, the Indian passport's global position.