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In recent months, a video by a popular travel content creator complaining about India's weak passport went viral on social media.

He mentioned that while nearby nations such as Sri Lanka and Bhutan offered easier access to travelers from India, obtaining visas for visiting most Western and European countries continued to be difficult.

Such concerns with the limited global access of Indian passports found confirmation in the latest global passport ranking, which placed India at position eighty-five out of nearly two hundred nations, a decline of five positions than last year.

Officials in India has not commented regarding these findings so far.

Countries including Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan with much smaller economies than India – a nation that is the fifth-largest economy globally – are ranked higher in the ranking at the 78th, 74th and 72nd spots, in that order.

Actually, the country's position in the past decade has hovered in the 80s, falling to ninetieth place two years ago. These rankings are dismal when measured against other Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore, all maintaining leading ranks.

What Passport Strength Measures

Passport strength indicates a country's global influence and global influence. This leads to better mobility for its citizens, boosting business and educational prospects. Limited passport power results in additional documentation, higher visa costs, fewer travel privileges and extended processing periods for travel.

However, even with the decline in the rank, the number of countries offering visa-free access for Indian citizens has actually increased in the past decade or so.

For example, eight years ago – when Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party assumed office – 52 countries offered visa-free travel for Indian passport holders with the passport ranked 76th in the ranking.

A year later, it tumbled to eighty-fifth place, then improved to 80th 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 62 in 2024.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The number of nations allowing visa-free entry this year (fifty-seven) exceeds the number eight years ago (52), but India's rank during both periods is 85. So, why is that?

Experts say that a major reason is the increasingly competitive landscape in international travel – indicating that countries are entering into additional travel agreements to benefit their citizens and their economies. As per recent analysis, the worldwide mean count of countries people can visit visa-free has almost doubled from 58 in 2006 to 109 in 2025.

As an illustration, The Chinese passport has expanded the number of visa-free countries its citizens can travel to from 50 to 82 in the past decade. As a result, its position in the ranking has enhanced from 94th to 60th in that same duration.

Meanwhile, The Indian passport – which was ranked at seventy-seventh place during summer – dropped to the 85th position in October following the loss to two countries.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

An ex-diplomat from India says multiple elements that affect the strength of a country's passport, like economic and political conditions plus its receptiveness to accepting travelers from abroad.

For instance, the US passport has dropped out from the top ten and now occupies the 12th position – a historic low – due to its increasingly insular stance in world politics.

The former ambassador recalls that during the seventies, Indians enjoyed visa-free access to numerous European and Western nations, but that changed following Sikh separatist movement in the 1980s. Later political disturbances have continued to damage the country's reputation as a stable democracy.

"Many countries are growing increasingly wary regarding migrants," he stated. "India has a large quantity of citizens emigrating overseas or remaining beyond visa limits and that interferes with the national image."

Factors like the security level of a national passport and immigration processes also play a role to obtaining visa-free entry to other countries.

Security and Technological Improvements

India's passport remains vulnerable to security threats. In 2024, law enforcement arrested 203 people for alleged passport and visa irregularities. India is also known for cumbersome immigration procedures and a slow pace of visa processing.

The former ambassador indicated that technological advances, such as the newly introduced digital passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and ease the immigration process. This electronic document contains a small chip holding biometric information, making it harder to forge or tamper with the passport.

But, increased diplomatic efforts and travel agreements remain key for enhancing the global mobility of Indians and, by extension, India's passport ranking.