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Earlier this year, a video from a popular travel content creator complaining about India's weak passport gained massive traction across digital platforms.

He mentioned that while nearby nations such as Sri Lanka and Bhutan offered easier access of travelers from India, securing travel permits for visiting most Western and European countries remained a challenge.

This dissatisfaction with the limited global access of Indian passports was reflected in recent global passport ranking, ranking the country in the 85th spot out of nearly two hundred nations, a decline of five positions than last year.

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

Countries like Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size than India – a nation that is the fifth-largest economy globally – hold better positions on the index in the seventies range, respectively.

Actually, the country's position over the last ten years has remained around the eighties, falling to ninetieth place two years ago. These rankings appear poor when measured against Asian nations such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore, all maintaining top positions.

Global Passport Power Measures

The power of a passport reflects a nation's soft power and global influence. It also translates into better mobility for its citizens, boosting business and educational prospects. Limited passport power means more paperwork, higher visa costs, fewer travel privileges and longer waiting times for travel.

But despite the decline in the rank, the number of countries providing visa-free travel for Indian citizens has grown in the past decade or so.

As an instance, eight years ago – the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party came to power – 52 countries provided visa-free access to Indians and its passport at seventy-sixth position in the ranking.

The following year, it tumbled to eighty-fifth place, then rose to eightieth over the past two years, declining once more to the eighty-fifth spot currently. At the same time, countries allowing visa-free travel for Indians 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 (fifty-seven) is higher than the number in 2015 (fifty-two), yet India's rank during both periods remains at eighty-fifth. What explains this situation?

Analysts note that a primary factor involves growing competition in global mobility – indicating that countries are entering into more travel partnerships to benefit their citizens and their economies. According to a 2025 report, the global average count of countries travellers are able to access visa-free has almost doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to one hundred nine currently.

As an illustration, The Chinese passport has increased its count of visa-free countries its citizens can travel to from fifty to eighty-two in the past decade. As a result, its position on the index has enhanced from ninety-fourth to sixtieth during the same time period.

Meanwhile, The Indian passport – previously positioned at seventy-seventh place during summer – dropped to eighty-fifth place this autumn after losing access to two countries.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

An ex-diplomat from India notes multiple elements that affect the strength of a country's passport, including its economic and political stability as well as its openness to accepting travelers from other countries.

For instance, the US passport has fallen of the top 10 and now occupies twelfth place – its lowest ever – due to its increasingly insular stance in global affairs.

The diplomat recalls how in the 1970s, Indian citizens had visa-free travel to many Western and European countries, though this shifted after the Sikh separatist movement during the eighties. Later political disturbances have further chipped away the country's reputation as a stable democracy.

"Many countries are growing more cautious of immigrants," he stated. "India has a high number of people migrating to other countries or overstaying their visas affecting the country's reputation."

Elements such as the security level 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 risks. In 2024, authorities detained 203 people for alleged visa and passport fraud. India is also known for complex immigration processes and a slow pace of visa processing.

The former ambassador says that new technologies, such as the newly introduced digital passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and ease the immigration process. The e-passport contains a small chip holding biometric information, making it harder to counterfeit or alter the document.

But, increased diplomatic efforts and travel partnerships remain key for enhancing the global mobility of Indians and consequently, India's passport ranking.