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In recent months, a video by a popular travel content creator expressing frustration over India's weak passport went viral across digital platforms.

The influencer stated that while nearby nations like Bhutan and Sri Lanka were more welcoming of travelers from India, obtaining visas for visiting many nations in Europe and the West continued to be difficult.

This dissatisfaction regarding India's poor passport strength was reflected in recent global passport ranking, ranking the country at position eighty-five out of 199 countries, a decline of five positions than last year.

The Indian government has not commented regarding these findings yet.

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

Actually, the country's position over the last ten years has remained in the 80s, falling to the 90th spot in 2021. Such standings are dismal compared to Asian nations like Singapore, Japan and South Korea, all maintaining top positions.

What Passport Strength Measures

The power of a passport indicates a country's global influence and international standing. This leads to better mobility for passport holders, boosting business and educational prospects. A weak passport results in additional documentation, higher visa costs, fewer travel privileges and extended processing periods for travel.

But despite the decline in the rank, the count of nations providing visa-free travel to Indians has grown in the past decade or so.

For example, eight years ago – the year the current administration's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power – 52 countries offered visa-free travel for Indian passport holders and its passport at seventy-sixth position in the ranking.

A year later, it fell to eighty-fifth place, then improved to 80th in 2023 and 2024, declining once more to the 85th position currently. Meanwhile, countries allowing visa-free travel to Indian citizens increased 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 in 2025 (fifty-seven) exceeds the number in 2015 (52), yet the country's position for both these years is 85. What explains this situation?

Experts say that a major reason involves growing competition in global mobility – indicating that countries are entering into more travel partnerships for their populations' advantage and their economies. According to recent analysis, the worldwide mean number of destinations travellers are able to access visa-free has nearly doubled from 58 in 2006 to 109 in 2025.

For example, The Chinese passport has expanded its count of visa-free countries available to its citizens from 50 to 82 in the past decade. Consequently, its position in the ranking has improved from ninety-fourth to sixtieth during the same time period.

Meanwhile, India – which was ranked 77th on the index in July – fell to eighty-fifth place in October after losing access to two countries.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

A former Indian ambassador says multiple elements influencing a nation's passport power, including its economic and political stability plus its receptiveness to welcoming citizens from abroad.

For instance, the US passport has dropped out of the top 10 and now occupies the 12th position – a historic low – due to its more inward-looking approach in world politics.

The former ambassador mentioned how in the 1970s, Indian citizens had visa-free travel to many Western and European countries, though this shifted following Sikh separatist movement in the 1980s. Subsequent political upheavals have continued to damage at India's image as a stable democracy.

"Many countries are growing increasingly wary of immigrants," he stated. "India has a large quantity of citizens emigrating to other countries or overstaying their visas affecting 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 other countries.

Security and Technological Improvements

India's passport faces ongoing security threats. In 2024, law enforcement arrested over two hundred individuals for suspected visa and passport fraud. The country also has complex immigration processes and a slow pace for visa approvals.

The former ambassador says that technological advances, such as the newly introduced digital passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and ease the immigration process. The e-passport contains a microchip that stores biometric information, increasing difficulty to counterfeit or alter the document.

But, more diplomatic outreach and travel partnerships continue essential for enhancing the global mobility of Indians and, by extension, India's passport ranking.