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In recent months, an online clip from a popular travel content creator complaining about India's weak passport gained massive traction on social media.

He mentioned that while nearby nations like Bhutan and Sri Lanka offered easier access of travelers from India, obtaining visas to travel to most Western and European countries continued to be difficult.

This dissatisfaction with the limited global access of Indian passports was reflected in the latest global passport ranking, ranking India 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.

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

Actually, India's rank over the last ten years has hovered in the 80s, falling to the 90th spot in 2021. Such standings are dismal compared to other Asian countries like Japan, South Korea and Singapore, all maintaining leading ranks.

What Passport Strength Indicates

Passport strength indicates a nation's soft power and global influence. This leads to enhanced travel freedom for its citizens, improving commercial and educational prospects. Limited passport power results in additional documentation, increased visa expenses, reduced travel benefits and extended processing periods for travel.

But despite the drop in position, the number of countries providing visa-free travel to Indians has grown over the last ten years.

For example, in 2014 – when the current administration's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) assumed office – fifty-two nations provided visa-free access for Indian passport holders with the passport ranked 76th on the index.

The following year, it tumbled to eighty-fifth place, then rose to 80th over the past two years, declining once more to the 85th position currently. At the same time, countries allowing visa-free travel to Indian citizens increased from 52 in 2015 to sixty last year and sixty-two this year.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

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

Experts say that a primary factor is the increasingly competitive landscape in international travel – indicating that countries are forming additional travel agreements to benefit their citizens and economic growth. According to a 2025 report, the global average count of countries travellers are able to access without visas has nearly doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to 109 in 2025.

For example, The Chinese passport has expanded the number of visa-free destinations its citizens can travel to from fifty to eighty-two in the past decade. As a result, its rank on the index has improved from 94th to 60th in that same duration.

In comparison, The Indian passport – which was ranked 77th on the index in July – fell to eighty-fifth place in October 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, including its economic and political stability as well as its openness to accepting travelers from other countries.

For example, the US passport has dropped out of the top 10 and now occupies twelfth place – a historic low – because of its more inward-looking approach in global affairs.

The diplomat recalls how in the 1970s, Indians enjoyed visa-free access to numerous European and Western nations, though this shifted after the Khalistan movement in the 1980s. Subsequent political upheavals have further chipped away at India's image as a stable democracy.

"Numerous nations are also becoming more cautious regarding migrants," he stated. "India has a high number of people migrating to other countries or remaining beyond visa limits and that interferes with the country's reputation."

Elements such as how secure of a national passport and immigration processes also play a role in gaining visa-free access to other countries.

Enhanced Security Measures

India's passport remains vulnerable to security threats. Last year, law enforcement arrested over two hundred individuals for alleged visa and passport fraud. The country also has cumbersome immigration procedures with lengthy timelines for visa approvals.

The diplomat says that new technologies, such as the newly introduced electronic passport or e-passport, can improve security and streamline immigration. This electronic document includes a microchip holding biometric information, increasing difficulty to counterfeit or alter the document.

However, increased diplomatic efforts and travel agreements remain key for enhancing international travel freedom for Indian citizens and, by extension, India's passport ranking.