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Earlier this year, an online clip by an Indian travel influencer expressing frustration over India's weak passport gained massive traction across digital platforms.

He mentioned that while nearby nations like Sri Lanka and Bhutan were more welcoming to 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 the latest Henley Passport Index, which placed the country in the 85th spot out of nearly two hundred nations, five spots lower compared to the previous year.

Officials in India have not issued a statement regarding these findings yet.

Nations like Rwanda, Ghana and Azerbaijan with much smaller economies than India – a nation that is the fifth-largest economy globally – hold better positions on the index in the seventies range, respectively.

In fact, India's rank in the past decade has hovered around the eighties, even dipping to the 90th spot two years ago. These rankings appear poor when measured against other Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore, all maintaining top positions.

What Passport Strength Indicates

The power of a passport indicates a nation's soft power and global influence. This leads to better mobility for its citizens, improving commercial and educational prospects. A weak passport means more paperwork, higher visa costs, fewer travel privileges and longer waiting times when journeying.

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 – 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 ranked 76th in the ranking.

A year later, it fell to the 85th position, then rose to eightieth in 2023 and 2024, declining once more to the eighty-fifth spot currently. Meanwhile, countries allowing visa-free travel to Indian citizens increased from 52 in 2015 to 60 in 2023 and sixty-two this year.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The number of nations allowing visa-free entry in 2025 (57) exceeds what it was eight years ago (52), yet the country's position during both periods remains at eighty-fifth. 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 to benefit their citizens and economic growth. As per recent analysis, the worldwide mean number of destinations travellers are able to access visa-free has almost doubled from 58 in 2006 to one hundred nine currently.

As an illustration, The Chinese passport has increased the number of visa-free destinations available to its citizens from fifty to eighty-two in the past decade. Consequently, its rank on the index has enhanced from ninety-fourth to sixtieth during the same time period.

In comparison, The Indian passport – previously positioned 77th on the index in July – fell to the 85th position this autumn following the loss to two countries.

Other Influences Affecting Passport Strength

An ex-diplomat from India notes multiple elements influencing the strength of a country's passport, including its economic and political stability plus its openness to welcoming citizens from abroad.

For example, the American passport has fallen from the top ten currently holding twelfth place – its lowest ever – due to its more inward-looking approach in world politics.

The former ambassador mentioned that during the seventies, Indians enjoyed visa-free travel to numerous European and Western nations, though this shifted following Khalistan movement in the 1980s. Subsequent political upheavals have further chipped away the country's reputation as a stable, democratic country.

"Numerous nations are also becoming more cautious of immigrants," the diplomat added. "India has a high number of citizens emigrating to other countries or overstaying their visas and that interferes with the national image."

Factors such as how secure a country's passport is and its immigration procedures also contribute to obtaining visa-free access to other countries.

Security and Technological Improvements

The Indian passport faces ongoing security threats. Last year, law enforcement detained 203 people for suspected visa and passport fraud. The country also has cumbersome immigration procedures and a slow pace for visa approvals.

The diplomat says that new technologies, such as the newly introduced electronic passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and streamline immigration. This electronic document includes a small chip holding biometric information, increasing difficulty to counterfeit or alter the document.

However, increased diplomatic efforts and travel agreements continue essential to boosting international travel freedom of Indians and, by extension, the Indian passport's global position.