The Reasons Behind India's National Passport Continues to Drop in Global Ranking

In recent months, an online clip by a popular travel content creator expressing frustration over India's weak passport gained massive traction across digital platforms.

He mentioned although nearby nations such as Sri Lanka and Bhutan offered easier access to travelers from India, securing travel permits for visiting most Western and European countries continued to be difficult.

This dissatisfaction regarding India's poor passport strength was reflected in the latest Henley Passport Index, which placed India in the 85th spot out of nearly two hundred nations, five spots lower compared to the previous year.

The Indian government have not issued a statement regarding these findings so far.

Countries like Rwanda, Ghana and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size compared to India – a nation that is the fifth-largest economy globally – hold better positions in the ranking at the 78th, 74th and 72nd spots, in that order.

In fact, India's rank in the past decade has hovered around the eighties, falling to ninetieth place in 2021. These rankings appear poor when measured against Asian nations such as Singapore, Japan and South Korea, which have consistently held leading ranks.

What Passport Strength Indicates

The power of a passport indicates a nation's soft power and international standing. It also translates into better mobility for its citizens, improving commercial and learning opportunities. Limited passport power means more paperwork, increased visa expenses, fewer travel privileges and extended processing periods when journeying.

However, even with the decline in the rank, the number of countries providing visa-free travel for Indian citizens has actually increased in the past decade or so.

As an instance, in 2014 – when Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party came to power – 52 countries offered visa-free travel to Indians with the passport ranked 76th in the ranking.

The following year, it tumbled to the 85th position, then improved to 80th over the past two years, declining once more to the 85th position this year. Meanwhile, countries allowing visa-free travel for Indians grew from 52 in 2015 to 60 in 2023 and 62 in 2024.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The number of nations allowing visa-free entry in 2025 (57) exceeds the number eight years ago (52), yet India's rank during both periods is 85. What explains this situation?

Analysts note that a major reason is the increasingly competitive landscape in international travel – meaning nations are forming additional travel agreements for their populations' advantage and economic growth. As per recent analysis, the worldwide mean count of countries travellers are able to access visa-free has nearly doubled from 58 in 2006 to one hundred nine currently.

As an illustration, The Chinese passport has expanded its count of visa-free countries available to its citizens from fifty to eighty-two in the past decade. Consequently, its position on the index has improved from 94th to 60th during the same time period.

In comparison, The Indian passport – previously positioned 77th on the index in July – fell to the 85th position this autumn following the loss of two nations.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

An ex-diplomat from India says multiple elements influencing a nation's passport power, including its economic and political stability plus its openness to welcoming citizens from abroad.

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

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

"Numerous nations are growing increasingly wary of immigrants," the diplomat added. "The country possesses a large quantity of people migrating overseas or remaining beyond visa limits affecting the country's reputation."

Factors like how secure of a national passport and its immigration procedures also play a role to obtaining visa-free entry to foreign nations.

Enhanced Security Measures

The Indian passport remains vulnerable to security threats. In 2024, authorities detained over two hundred individuals for alleged visa and passport fraud. The country also has cumbersome immigration procedures and a slow pace for visa approvals.

The diplomat says that new technologies, like India's recently-launched electronic passport or e-passport, can improve security and ease the immigration process. This electronic document includes a small chip holding biometric data, making it harder to forge or tamper with the document.

However, increased diplomatic efforts and travel partnerships remain key to boosting the global mobility for Indian citizens and consequently, India's passport ranking.