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In recent months, an online clip by an Indian travel influencer complaining about the limited power of the Indian passport gained massive traction on social media.

He mentioned that while nearby nations like Bhutan and Sri Lanka were more welcoming to travelers from India, securing travel permits to travel to many nations in Europe and the West continued to be difficult.

Such concerns regarding India's poor passport strength was reflected in recent global passport ranking, which placed India at position eighty-five among nearly two hundred nations, a decline of five positions compared to the previous year.

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

Countries including Rwanda, Ghana and Azerbaijan with much smaller economies compared to India – which is the fifth-largest economy globally – hold better positions on the index 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 ninetieth place in 2021. These rankings are dismal compared to other Asian countries like Japan, South Korea and Singapore, which have consistently held top positions.

Global Passport Power Indicates

The power of a passport indicates a country's global influence and international standing. This leads to enhanced travel freedom for its citizens, boosting business and learning opportunities. A weak passport means more paperwork, increased visa expenses, fewer travel privileges and extended processing periods for travel.

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

For example, in 2014 – when Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party assumed office – 52 countries provided visa-free access to Indians with the passport at seventy-sixth position on the index.

The following year, it tumbled to the 85th position, then improved to 80th in 2023 and 2024, dropping again to the eighty-fifth spot this year. Meanwhile, countries allowing visa-free travel to Indian citizens grew from 52 in 2015 to 60 in 2023 and sixty-two this year.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The number of nations allowing visa-free entry in 2025 (fifty-seven) exceeds the number in 2015 (fifty-two), yet India's rank for both these years remains at eighty-fifth. What explains this situation?

Analysts note that a major reason is the increasingly competitive landscape in international travel – indicating that countries are forming additional travel agreements for their populations' advantage and economic growth. According to a 2025 report, the global average count of countries travellers are able to access without visas has almost doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to 109 in 2025.

As an illustration, China has expanded its count of visa-free destinations available to its citizens from fifty to eighty-two in the past decade. As a result, its rank in the ranking has improved from 94th to 60th in that same duration.

In comparison, The Indian passport – which was ranked 77th on the index in July – fell to eighty-fifth place this autumn following the loss to two countries.

Additional Factors Affecting Passport Strength

A former Indian ambassador says there are other factors that affect the strength of a country's passport, like its economic and political stability plus its receptiveness to accepting travelers from other countries.

For example, the American passport has fallen from the top ten and now occupies the 12th position – a historic low – because of its increasingly insular stance in global affairs.

The former ambassador mentioned how in the 1970s, Indians enjoyed visa-free access to many Western and European countries, but that changed following Khalistan movement in the 1980s. Subsequent political upheavals have further chipped away the country's reputation as a stable democracy.

"Numerous nations are growing increasingly wary regarding migrants," he stated. "India has a high number of people migrating overseas or remaining beyond visa limits affecting the country's reputation."

Elements such as the security level of a national passport and its immigration procedures also play a role in gaining visa-free entry to foreign nations.

Security and Technological Improvements

The Indian passport faces ongoing security threats. Last year, law enforcement detained over two hundred individuals for alleged passport and visa irregularities. The country also has complex immigration processes and a slow pace of visa processing.

The former ambassador says that technological advances, such as the newly introduced electronic passport or e-passport, can improve security and ease the immigration process. This electronic document includes a small chip that stores biometric information, increasing difficulty to forge or tamper with the passport.

But, increased diplomatic efforts and travel partnerships remain key for enhancing the global mobility for Indian citizens and, by extension, the Indian passport's global position.