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In recent months, an online clip from an Indian travel influencer 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 offered easier access to travelers from India, obtaining visas to travel to many nations in Europe and the West remained a challenge.

Such concerns regarding the limited global access of Indian passports found confirmation in recent global passport ranking, which placed India at position eighty-five among 199 countries, a decline of five positions compared to the previous year.

The Indian government has not commented regarding these findings so far.

Countries including Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size compared to India – a nation that is the world's fifth biggest economy – are ranked higher in the ranking in the seventies range, in that order.

Actually, the country's position in the past decade has remained in the 80s, falling to the 90th spot two years ago. These rankings are dismal compared to other Asian countries like Singapore, Japan and South Korea, all maintaining leading ranks.

What Passport Strength Indicates

The power of a passport reflects a nation's soft power and international standing. It also translates into better mobility for passport holders, boosting business and learning opportunities. Limited passport power results in additional documentation, increased visa expenses, reduced travel benefits and extended processing periods for travel.

But despite the drop in position, the count of nations providing visa-free travel to Indians has actually increased over the last ten years.

As an instance, eight years ago – when Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party came to power – 52 countries provided visa-free travel for Indian passport holders with the passport ranked 76th in the ranking.

The following year, it fell to the 85th position, then rose to eightieth over the past two years, dropping again to the 85th position currently. At the same time, countries allowing visa-free travel to Indian citizens increased from fifty-two eight years ago to 60 in 2023 and sixty-two this year.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The number of visa-free destinations this year (57) is higher than the number eight years ago (52), but India's rank for both these years remains at eighty-fifth. So, why is that?

Experts say that a major reason involves growing competition in global mobility – meaning countries are entering into additional travel agreements to benefit their citizens and their economies. According to recent analysis, the global average count of countries travellers are able to access without visas has nearly doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to 109 in 2025.

As an illustration, China has expanded its count of visa-free countries its citizens can travel to from 50 to 82 in the past decade. Consequently, its rank on the index has enhanced from 94th to 60th in that same duration.

Meanwhile, The Indian passport – previously positioned at seventy-seventh place in July – dropped to eighty-fifth place in October after losing access of two nations.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

An ex-diplomat from India says multiple elements that affect the strength of a country's passport, like its economic and political stability as well as its openness to welcoming citizens from abroad.

For example, the American passport has fallen from the top ten currently holding the 12th position – a historic low – because of its more inward-looking approach in global affairs.

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

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

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

Enhanced Security Measures

The Indian passport remains vulnerable to security risks. In 2024, authorities detained 203 people 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 new technologies, like India's recently-launched digital passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and ease the immigration process. This electronic document includes a small chip that stores biometric information, making it harder to forge or tamper with the passport.

However, increased diplomatic efforts and travel agreements remain key to boosting the global mobility for Indian citizens and, by extension, India's passport ranking.