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Earlier this year, an online clip by a popular travel content creator complaining about India's weak passport gained massive traction on social media.

He mentioned that while nearby nations like Bhutan and Sri Lanka offered easier access to travelers from India, securing travel permits for visiting many nations in Europe and the West remained a challenge.

This dissatisfaction regarding India's poor passport strength found confirmation in recent global passport ranking, ranking the country in the 85th spot among nearly two hundred nations, a decline of five positions compared to the previous year.

The Indian government has not commented regarding these findings yet.

Nations 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, respectively.

In fact, the country's position in the past decade has hovered around the eighties, even dipping to ninetieth place two years ago. These rankings appear poor compared to Asian nations like Japan, South Korea and Singapore, all maintaining top positions.

Global Passport Power Indicates

Passport strength indicates a country's global influence and global influence. It also translates into enhanced travel freedom for passport holders, boosting business and learning opportunities. A weak passport means additional documentation, higher visa costs, reduced travel benefits and extended processing periods for travel.

But despite the drop in position, the number of countries providing visa-free travel to Indians has grown over the last ten years.

As an instance, eight years ago – when Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) assumed office – fifty-two nations offered visa-free access for Indian passport holders with the passport at seventy-sixth position in the ranking.

A year later, it tumbled to the 85th position, then improved to eightieth over the past two years, declining once more to the 85th position this year. At the same time, visa-free destinations to Indian citizens increased from 52 in 2015 to sixty last year and sixty-two this year.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The count of visa-free destinations in 2025 (57) is higher than what it was eight years ago (fifty-two), yet the country's position for both these years is 85. So, why is that?

Experts say that a major reason involves growing competition in international travel – meaning countries are forming additional travel agreements to benefit their citizens and economic growth. As per a 2025 report, the worldwide mean number of destinations people can visit without visas has almost doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to 109 in 2025.

As an illustration, The Chinese passport has expanded its count of visa-free countries available to its citizens from fifty to eighty-two in the past decade. As a result, its rank on the index has improved from ninety-fourth to sixtieth in that same duration.

In comparison, The Indian passport – previously positioned at seventy-seventh place in July – fell to the 85th position in October after losing access to two countries.

Additional Factors Affecting Passport Strength

An ex-diplomat from India says multiple elements influencing a nation's passport power, like economic and political conditions plus its openness to welcoming citizens from other countries.

For instance, the American passport has fallen of the top 10 and now occupies the 12th position – a historic low – because of its increasingly insular stance in world politics.

The diplomat recalls that during the seventies, Indian citizens had visa-free travel to many Western and European countries, but that changed after the Sikh separatist movement during the eighties. Subsequent political upheavals have continued to damage the country's reputation as a stable democracy.

"Many countries are growing more cautious of immigrants," the diplomat added. "The country possesses a large quantity of people migrating to other countries or remaining beyond visa limits affecting the country's reputation."

Elements like the security level a country's passport is and its immigration procedures also contribute to obtaining visa-free entry to other countries.

Security and Technological Improvements

The Indian passport faces ongoing security risks. Last year, authorities detained over two hundred individuals for alleged visa and passport fraud. The country also has cumbersome immigration procedures with lengthy timelines of visa processing.

The diplomat indicated that new technologies, like India's recently-launched digital passport or e-passport, can improve security and streamline immigration. This electronic document contains a small chip holding biometric data, making it harder to counterfeit or alter the passport.

However, more diplomatic outreach and travel partnerships remain key to boosting international travel freedom of Indians and, by extension, India's passport ranking.