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Earlier this year, an online clip from a popular travel content creator expressing frustration over the limited power of the Indian passport went viral across digital platforms.

The influencer stated that while nearby nations like Bhutan and Sri Lanka offered easier access to travelers from India, securing travel permits to travel to many nations in Europe and the West remained a challenge.

This dissatisfaction with the limited global access of Indian passports found confirmation in the latest global passport ranking, which placed the country in the 85th spot out of 199 countries, a decline of five positions than last year.

Officials in India has not commented on the report so far.

Countries including Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size than India – a nation that is the fifth-largest economy globally – are ranked higher in the ranking at the 78th, 74th and 72nd spots, in that order.

Actually, India's rank over the last ten years has hovered in the 80s, falling to the 90th spot two years ago. These rankings appear poor when measured against other Asian countries like Japan, South Korea and Singapore, all maintaining leading ranks.

Global Passport Power Measures

Passport strength indicates a nation's soft power and global influence. It also translates into enhanced travel freedom for passport holders, improving commercial and learning opportunities. Limited passport power means more paperwork, higher visa costs, reduced travel benefits and extended processing periods when journeying.

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

As an instance, eight years ago – the year the current administration's ruling party came to power – 52 countries provided visa-free access to Indians and its passport at seventy-sixth position on the index.

A year later, it tumbled to eighty-fifth place, then improved to eightieth over the past two years, declining once more to the 85th position currently. Meanwhile, countries allowing visa-free travel for Indians increased from 52 in 2015 to 60 in 2023 and sixty-two this year.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The number of visa-free destinations this year (57) is higher than the number eight years ago (52), but India's rank during both periods remains at eighty-fifth. What explains this situation?

Analysts note that a primary factor is the increasingly competitive landscape in global mobility – indicating that nations are entering into more travel partnerships to benefit their citizens and their economies. As per a 2025 report, the global average count of countries travellers are able to access visa-free has nearly doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to 109 in 2025.

As an illustration, China has increased its count of visa-free countries its citizens can travel to from fifty to eighty-two in the past decade. Consequently, its position on the index has improved from ninety-fourth to sixtieth in that same duration.

In comparison, The Indian passport – previously positioned 77th on the index in July – dropped to eighty-fifth place in October after losing access of two nations.

Additional Factors Impacting Passport Power

An ex-diplomat from India notes there are other factors that affect the strength of a country's passport, like economic and political conditions plus its openness to welcoming citizens from abroad.

For instance, the US passport has dropped out from the top ten currently holding 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 many Western and European countries, though this shifted after the Sikh separatist movement during the eighties. Later political disturbances have continued to damage at India's image as a stable, democratic country.

"Numerous nations are growing more cautious of immigrants," the diplomat added. "The country possesses a large quantity of citizens emigrating to other countries or overstaying their visas affecting the country's reputation."

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

Enhanced Security Measures

The Indian passport remains vulnerable to security risks. In 2024, authorities arrested 203 people for alleged passport and visa irregularities. India is also known for complex immigration processes and a slow pace for visa approvals.

The former ambassador indicated that new technologies, such as the newly introduced digital passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and streamline immigration. This electronic document contains a small chip holding biometric information, increasing difficulty to forge or tamper with the document.

But, more diplomatic outreach and travel agreements remain key to boosting the global mobility for Indian citizens and consequently, the Indian passport's global position.