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In recent months, a video from a popular travel content creator expressing frustration over India's weak passport went viral on social media.

He mentioned that while nearby nations like Sri Lanka and Bhutan offered easier access of Indian tourists, securing travel permits to travel to many nations in Europe and the West remained a challenge.

Such concerns with India's poor passport strength 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.

The Indian government have not issued a statement regarding these findings so far.

Countries like Rwanda, Ghana and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size than India – which is the fifth-largest economy globally – are ranked higher in the ranking in the seventies range, respectively.

In fact, the country's position over the last ten years has hovered around the eighties, falling to ninetieth place in 2021. These rankings appear poor when measured against Asian nations such as Singapore, Japan and South Korea, which have consistently held leading ranks.

Global Passport Power Indicates

Passport strength indicates a nation's soft power and international standing. This leads to better mobility for passport holders, improving commercial and educational prospects. Limited passport power results in more paperwork, higher visa costs, reduced travel benefits and longer waiting times when journeying.

However, even with the decline in the rank, the count of nations providing visa-free travel for Indian citizens has grown over the last ten years.

As an instance, in 2014 – the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party assumed office – fifty-two nations offered visa-free travel to Indians and its passport at seventy-sixth position in the ranking.

The following year, it tumbled to eighty-fifth place, then rose to 80th in 2023 and 2024, dropping again to the eighty-fifth spot this year. Meanwhile, visa-free destinations to Indian citizens grew from fifty-two eight years ago to 60 in 2023 and sixty-two this year.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The count of visa-free destinations in 2025 (fifty-seven) exceeds what it was eight years ago (fifty-two), but India's rank during both periods is 85. So, why is that?

Experts say that a major reason involves growing competition in international travel – meaning countries 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 nearly doubled from 58 in 2006 to one hundred nine currently.

For example, China has increased the number of visa-free countries its citizens can travel to from fifty to eighty-two over the last ten years. As a result, its rank in the ranking has enhanced from 94th to 60th during the same time period.

In comparison, The Indian passport – previously positioned 77th on the index during summer – fell to eighty-fifth place in October following the loss of two nations.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

An ex-diplomat from India says multiple elements that affect a nation's passport power, including economic and political conditions as well as its openness to accepting travelers from other countries.

For example, the US passport has fallen of the top 10 and now occupies the 12th position – its lowest ever – due to its increasingly insular stance in global affairs.

The former ambassador recalls how in the 1970s, Indian citizens had visa-free travel to numerous European and Western nations, though this shifted after the Sikh separatist movement during the eighties. Later political disturbances have continued to damage the country's reputation as a stable democracy.

"Numerous nations are growing 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."

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

Security and Technological Improvements

The Indian passport remains vulnerable to security risks. Last year, law enforcement arrested over two hundred individuals for suspected passport and visa irregularities. India is also known for complex immigration processes and a slow pace of visa processing.

The former ambassador says that technological advances, like India's recently-launched electronic passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and ease the immigration process. The e-passport contains a microchip holding biometric data, making it harder to forge or tamper with the document.

However, increased diplomatic efforts and travel partnerships remain key to boosting international travel freedom for Indian citizens and consequently, India's passport ranking.