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In recent months, an online clip from an Indian travel influencer expressing frustration over 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, obtaining visas to travel to many nations in Europe and the West remained a challenge.

This dissatisfaction regarding India's poor passport strength found confirmation in recent Henley Passport Index, which placed the country at position eighty-five among 199 countries, five spots lower than last year.

Officials in India has not commented on the report yet.

Countries like Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size compared to India – which is the world's fifth biggest economy – hold better positions in the ranking in the seventies range, in that order.

In fact, the country's position in the past decade has hovered around the eighties, even dipping to ninetieth place in 2021. These rankings appear poor compared to other Asian countries like Singapore, Japan and South Korea, all maintaining leading ranks.

Global Passport Power Measures

The power of a passport indicates a nation's soft power and global influence. This leads to enhanced travel freedom for passport holders, boosting business and educational prospects. A weak passport results in additional documentation, increased visa expenses, reduced travel benefits and extended processing periods when journeying.

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

As an instance, eight years ago – the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power – 52 countries provided visa-free travel for Indian passport holders with the passport at seventy-sixth position on the index.

A year later, it fell to eighty-fifth place, then rose to 80th over the past two years, declining once more to the 85th position this year. Meanwhile, countries allowing visa-free travel for Indians increased from fifty-two eight years ago to sixty last year and sixty-two this year.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The count of visa-free destinations in 2025 (57) exceeds the number eight years ago (52), but India's rank for both these years remains at eighty-fifth. What explains this situation?

Experts say that a primary factor is the increasingly competitive landscape in global mobility – meaning countries are forming more travel partnerships for their populations' advantage and their economies. According to recent analysis, the global average number of destinations travellers are able to access without visas has almost doubled from 58 in 2006 to 109 in 2025.

As an illustration, The Chinese passport has increased its count of visa-free countries its citizens can travel to from 50 to 82 in the past decade. As a result, its rank on the index has improved from ninety-fourth to sixtieth in that same duration.

Meanwhile, India – previously positioned at seventy-seventh place in July – fell to the 85th position this autumn after losing access to two countries.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

An ex-diplomat from India says there are other factors that affect the strength of a country's passport, including its economic and political stability as well as its receptiveness to accepting travelers from other countries.

For example, the US passport has fallen of the top 10 currently holding the 12th position – a historic low – due to its increasingly insular stance in world politics.

The diplomat mentioned that during the seventies, Indian citizens had visa-free travel to numerous European and Western nations, though this shifted following Khalistan movement in the 1980s. Subsequent political upheavals have continued to damage at India's image as a stable democracy.

"Numerous nations are growing increasingly wary regarding migrants," he stated. "The country possesses a large quantity of people migrating overseas or overstaying their visas and that interferes with the national image."

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

Security and Technological Improvements

India's passport remains vulnerable to security risks. Last year, authorities detained 203 people for suspected visa and passport fraud. India is also known for cumbersome immigration procedures with lengthy timelines for visa approvals.

The diplomat says that technological advances, like India's recently-launched electronic passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and ease the immigration process. The e-passport includes a small chip that stores biometric information, making it harder to forge or tamper with the passport.

But, more diplomatic outreach and travel agreements continue essential to boosting international travel freedom for Indian citizens and consequently, India's passport ranking.