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In recent months, an online clip by a popular travel content creator complaining about India's weak passport went viral on social media.

He mentioned that while nearby nations like Sri Lanka and Bhutan offered easier access of travelers from India, securing travel permits for visiting many nations in Europe and the West remained a challenge.

Such concerns regarding India's poor passport strength was reflected in recent global passport ranking, ranking India in the 85th spot out of nearly two hundred nations, a decline of five positions than last year.

Officials in India has not commented regarding these findings so far.

Countries including Rwanda, Ghana and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size than India – which is the world's fifth biggest economy – are ranked higher in the ranking in the seventies range, in that order.

Actually, the country's position over the last ten years has remained in the 80s, even dipping to the 90th spot in 2021. These rankings are dismal compared to Asian nations like Japan, South Korea and Singapore, which have consistently held top positions.

What Passport Strength Measures

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

But despite the decline in the rank, the count of nations providing visa-free travel to Indians has actually increased in the past decade or so.

For example, eight years ago – the year the current administration's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power – fifty-two nations offered visa-free travel for Indian passport holders and its passport at seventy-sixth position on the index.

The following year, it fell to the 85th position, then rose to 80th over the past two years, dropping again to the eighty-fifth spot currently. At the same time, countries allowing visa-free travel for Indians increased from 52 in 2015 to 60 in 2023 and 62 in 2024.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

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

Experts say that a primary factor involves growing competition in global mobility – indicating that nations are entering into additional travel agreements to benefit their citizens and their economies. According to recent analysis, the global average number of destinations people can visit without visas has nearly doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to 109 in 2025.

As an illustration, China has expanded the number of visa-free destinations available to its citizens from 50 to 82 in the past decade. Consequently, its position in the ranking has enhanced from 94th to 60th in that same duration.

In comparison, India – previously positioned at seventy-seventh place during summer – dropped to the 85th position this autumn after losing access of two nations.

Additional Factors Affecting Passport Strength

An ex-diplomat from India notes there are other factors influencing the strength of a country's passport, including economic and political conditions as well as its receptiveness to welcoming citizens from other countries.

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

The diplomat recalls that during the seventies, Indian citizens had visa-free travel to numerous European and Western nations, but that changed after the Sikh separatist movement during the eighties. Subsequent political upheavals have continued to damage the country's reputation as a stable, democratic country.

"Many countries are also becoming increasingly wary of immigrants," he stated. "India has a high number of citizens emigrating overseas or remaining beyond visa limits affecting the national image."

Elements like how secure of a national passport and its immigration procedures also contribute to obtaining visa-free access to foreign nations.

Security and Technological Improvements

India's passport faces ongoing security risks. In 2024, authorities arrested 203 people for suspected visa and passport fraud. The country also has complex immigration processes and a slow pace of visa processing.

The former ambassador indicated that new technologies, like India's recently-launched digital passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and streamline immigration. This electronic document contains a microchip that stores biometric information, making it harder to counterfeit or alter the passport.

However, more diplomatic outreach and travel partnerships continue essential to boosting the global mobility of Indians and, by extension, India's passport ranking.