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Earlier this year, an online clip from a popular travel content creator expressing frustration over India's weak passport went viral across digital platforms.

The influencer stated although neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka and Bhutan offered easier access of travelers from India, obtaining visas for visiting most Western and European countries remained a challenge.

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 so far.

Nations including Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan with much smaller economies compared to India – a nation that is the world's fifth biggest economy – 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 around the eighties, falling to the 90th spot in 2021. These rankings appear poor when measured against other Asian countries like Singapore, Japan and South Korea, all maintaining leading ranks.

What Passport Strength Indicates

Passport strength indicates a nation's soft power and global influence. It also translates into enhanced travel freedom for passport holders, improving commercial and educational prospects. Limited passport power results in more paperwork, higher visa costs, fewer travel privileges and extended processing periods when journeying.

But despite the decline in the rank, the count of nations offering visa-free access to Indians has actually increased over the last ten years.

As an instance, eight years ago – when Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party assumed office – fifty-two nations provided visa-free travel for Indian passport holders and its passport ranked 76th on the index.

The following year, it fell to the 85th position, then rose to 80th in 2023 and 2024, declining once more to the eighty-fifth spot this year. At the same time, visa-free destinations to Indian citizens increased from fifty-two eight years ago to 60 in 2023 and 62 in 2024.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The number of visa-free destinations in 2025 (fifty-seven) is higher than the number eight years ago (52), but the country's position for both these years is 85. What explains this situation?

Experts say that a major reason involves growing competition in international travel – meaning countries are forming more travel partnerships for their populations' advantage and economic growth. According to a 2025 report, the global average number of destinations travellers are able to access without visas has almost doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to one hundred nine currently.

For example, The Chinese passport has expanded the number of visa-free destinations its citizens can travel to from 50 to 82 over the last ten years. Consequently, its rank in the ranking has improved from 94th to 60th in that same duration.

In comparison, India – which was ranked 77th on the index during summer – fell to eighty-fifth place in October following the loss to two countries.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

An ex-diplomat from India says there are other factors influencing the strength of a country's passport, like its economic and political stability as well as its receptiveness to accepting travelers from other countries.

For instance, the US passport has fallen from the top ten and now occupies the 12th position – its lowest ever – because of its more inward-looking approach in world politics.

The diplomat mentioned that during the seventies, Indians enjoyed visa-free access 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, democratic country.

"Many countries are growing more cautious regarding migrants," the diplomat added. "The country possesses a large quantity of people migrating to other countries or overstaying their visas affecting the country's reputation."

Factors like how secure a country's passport is and immigration processes also contribute to obtaining visa-free access to foreign nations.

Security and Technological Improvements

India's passport faces ongoing security threats. Last year, authorities arrested over two hundred individuals for suspected passport and visa irregularities. The country also has complex immigration processes and a slow pace of visa processing.

The diplomat 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 includes a small chip that stores biometric data, increasing difficulty to counterfeit or alter the passport.

But, increased diplomatic efforts and travel agreements continue essential for enhancing international travel freedom of Indians and, by extension, India's passport ranking.