The Reasons Behind India's Indian Passport Continues to Drop in Worldwide Standing

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

He mentioned although neighbouring countries such as Sri Lanka and Bhutan were more welcoming of travelers from India, securing travel permits to travel to most Western and European countries remained a challenge.

This dissatisfaction regarding India's poor passport strength was reflected in the latest Henley Passport Index, 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 compared to India – which is the fifth-largest economy globally – are ranked higher on the index at the 78th, 74th and 72nd spots, respectively.

Actually, India's rank over the last ten years has hovered in the 80s, even dipping to the 90th spot two years ago. Such standings are dismal when measured against other Asian countries like Japan, South Korea and Singapore, all maintaining top positions.

What Passport Strength Indicates

The power of a passport reflects a nation's soft power and global influence. This leads to better mobility for its citizens, improving commercial and educational prospects. Limited passport power results in more paperwork, increased visa expenses, fewer travel privileges and longer waiting times for travel.

However, even with the drop in position, the number of countries offering visa-free access for Indian citizens has actually increased in the past decade or so.

As an instance, eight years ago – when Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party came to power – fifty-two nations offered visa-free travel for Indian passport holders and its passport ranked 76th on the index.

A year later, it tumbled to eighty-fifth place, then rose to 80th in 2023 and 2024, dropping again to the 85th position this year. Meanwhile, countries allowing visa-free travel to Indian citizens increased from 52 in 2015 to 60 in 2023 and 62 in 2024.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The count of visa-free destinations this year (fifty-seven) is higher than what it was eight years ago (52), but India's rank for both these years remains at eighty-fifth. So, why is that?

Analysts note that a primary factor is the increasingly competitive landscape in international travel – indicating that countries are forming more travel partnerships for their populations' advantage and their economies. As per a 2025 report, the global average number of destinations people can visit visa-free has almost doubled from 58 in 2006 to one hundred nine currently.

As an illustration, The Chinese passport has expanded the number of visa-free destinations its citizens can travel to from fifty to eighty-two over the last ten years. Consequently, its position in the ranking has improved from ninety-fourth to sixtieth in that same duration.

Meanwhile, India – previously positioned 77th on the index during summer – dropped to eighty-fifth place in October after losing access to two countries.

Additional Factors Affecting Passport Strength

A former Indian ambassador notes there are other factors influencing the strength of a country's passport, like economic and political conditions as well as its openness to welcoming citizens from other countries.

For instance, the US passport has dropped out from the top ten and now occupies twelfth place – its lowest ever – because of its more inward-looking approach in world politics.

The diplomat recalls how in the 1970s, Indians enjoyed visa-free travel to numerous European and Western nations, but that changed after the Sikh separatist movement in the 1980s. Later political disturbances have further chipped away at India's image as a stable democracy.

"Many countries are also becoming more cautious regarding migrants," the diplomat added. "The country possesses a high number of people migrating to other countries or overstaying their visas affecting the country's reputation."

Elements such as how secure a country's passport is and immigration processes also contribute to obtaining visa-free entry to foreign nations.

Security and Technological Improvements

The Indian passport faces ongoing security threats. In 2024, law enforcement arrested 203 people for suspected passport and visa irregularities. The country also has complex immigration processes with lengthy timelines of visa processing.

The former ambassador indicated that technological advances, such as the newly introduced digital passport or e-passport, can improve security and ease the immigration process. This electronic document includes a small chip that stores biometric data, increasing difficulty to forge or tamper with the document.

But, more diplomatic outreach and travel agreements remain key for enhancing the global mobility for Indian citizens and, by extension, India's passport ranking.