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

The influencer stated that while neighbouring countries such as Sri Lanka and Bhutan were more welcoming of 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 Henley Passport Index, ranking the country at position eighty-five among nearly two hundred nations, five spots lower compared to the previous year.

The Indian government have not issued a statement on the report so far.

Countries including Rwanda, Ghana and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size compared to India – which is the world's fifth biggest economy – hold better positions on the index at the 78th, 74th and 72nd spots, in that order.

In fact, the country's position in the past decade has remained in the 80s, falling to the 90th spot two years ago. Such standings appear poor when measured against Asian nations like Japan, South Korea and Singapore, all maintaining leading ranks.

What Passport Strength Indicates

Passport strength reflects a nation's soft power and global influence. It also translates into better mobility for passport holders, boosting business and learning opportunities. A weak passport means more paperwork, higher visa costs, reduced travel benefits and longer waiting times for travel.

But despite the drop in position, the number of countries offering visa-free access to Indians has actually increased in the past decade or so.

As an instance, eight years ago – the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power – 52 countries offered visa-free access to Indians with the passport ranked 76th in the ranking.

A year later, it tumbled to the 85th position, then improved to eightieth in 2023 and 2024, dropping again to the 85th position currently. Meanwhile, visa-free destinations for Indians increased from 52 in 2015 to 60 in 2023 and 62 in 2024.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The count of nations allowing visa-free entry in 2025 (fifty-seven) exceeds the number eight years ago (52), yet the country's position for both these years remains at eighty-fifth. So, why is that?

Analysts note that a primary factor is the increasingly competitive landscape in international travel – indicating that countries are forming additional travel agreements to benefit their citizens and their economies. According to recent analysis, the worldwide mean count of countries travellers are able to access without visas has almost doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to one hundred nine currently.

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

In comparison, The Indian passport – which was ranked at seventy-seventh place in July – fell to eighty-fifth place in October after losing access to two countries.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

A former Indian ambassador says there are other factors that affect the strength of a country's passport, including economic and political conditions as well as its receptiveness to accepting travelers from abroad.

For instance, the American passport has dropped out of the top 10 and now occupies the 12th position – its lowest ever – because of its increasingly insular stance in world politics.

The diplomat mentioned that during the seventies, Indian citizens had visa-free access to many Western and European countries, though this shifted after the Khalistan movement during the eighties. Subsequent political upheavals have further chipped away at India's image as a stable, democratic country.

"Numerous nations are growing more cautious regarding migrants," the diplomat added. "The country possesses a large quantity of people migrating to other countries or remaining beyond visa limits and that interferes with the country's reputation."

Elements like the security level of a national passport and its immigration procedures also contribute in gaining visa-free access to foreign nations.

Enhanced Security Measures

The Indian passport remains vulnerable to security threats. In 2024, authorities detained 203 people for alleged passport and visa irregularities. India is also known for cumbersome immigration procedures and a slow pace of visa processing.

The diplomat indicated that new technologies, like India's recently-launched digital passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and ease the immigration process. The e-passport includes a small chip holding biometric data, increasing difficulty to forge or tamper with the passport.

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