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In recent months, an online clip by an Indian travel influencer complaining about the limited power of the Indian passport gained massive traction on social media.

He mentioned that while neighbouring countries like Bhutan and Sri Lanka offered easier access to Indian tourists, securing travel permits to travel to many nations in Europe and the West remained a challenge.

Such concerns with the limited global access of Indian passports was reflected in recent global passport ranking, ranking the country in the 85th spot among nearly two hundred nations, a decline of five positions compared to the previous year.

Officials in India have not issued a statement on the report so far.

Countries like Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size compared to India – a nation that is the world's fifth biggest economy – are ranked higher on the index in the seventies range, respectively.

Actually, India's rank in the past decade has hovered in the 80s, falling to the 90th spot in 2021. Such standings are dismal compared to Asian nations 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 international standing. It also translates into 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.

However, even with the decline in the rank, the number of countries offering visa-free access for Indian citizens has grown over the last ten years.

As an instance, in 2014 – the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party assumed office – fifty-two nations provided visa-free travel for Indian passport holders and its passport at seventy-sixth position on the index.

A year later, it tumbled to the 85th position, then rose to 80th in 2023 and 2024, dropping again to the 85th position currently. Meanwhile, visa-free destinations for Indians grew from fifty-two eight years ago to sixty last year and sixty-two this year.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The number of visa-free destinations in 2025 (fifty-seven) exceeds what it was eight years ago (52), yet India's rank during both periods remains at eighty-fifth. So, why is that?

Experts say that a major reason is the increasingly competitive landscape in global mobility – indicating that nations are forming additional travel agreements for their populations' advantage and economic growth. According to recent analysis, the global average count of countries travellers are able to access visa-free has nearly doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to one hundred nine currently.

As an illustration, The Chinese passport has expanded the number of visa-free destinations available to its citizens from 50 to 82 over the last ten years. Consequently, its position on the index has enhanced from 94th to 60th during the same time period.

Meanwhile, India – which was ranked at seventy-seventh place in July – fell to eighty-fifth place this autumn after losing access of two nations.

Additional Factors Affecting Passport Strength

An ex-diplomat from India says there are other factors that affect the strength of a country's passport, like economic and political conditions plus its receptiveness to accepting travelers from abroad.

For instance, the American passport has dropped out from the top ten currently holding the 12th position – a historic low – because of its increasingly insular stance in world politics.

The diplomat mentioned that during the seventies, Indians enjoyed visa-free access to many Western and European countries, though this shifted after the Khalistan movement in the 1980s. Subsequent political upheavals have continued to damage the country's reputation as a stable democracy.

"Numerous nations are also becoming more cautious of immigrants," he stated. "The country possesses a high number of citizens emigrating to other countries or remaining beyond visa limits and that interferes with the country's reputation."

Factors like how secure a country's passport is and its immigration procedures also play a role in gaining visa-free entry to foreign nations.

Security and Technological Improvements

India's passport faces ongoing security risks. Last year, law enforcement detained over two hundred individuals for alleged passport and visa irregularities. India is also known for cumbersome immigration procedures and a slow pace of visa processing.

The former ambassador says that technological advances, such as the newly introduced digital passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and streamline immigration. The e-passport includes a small chip holding biometric data, making it harder to forge or tamper with the document.

But, more diplomatic outreach and travel agreements continue essential to boosting the global mobility for Indian citizens and, by extension, India's passport ranking.