The Reasons Behind India's Indian Passport Is Falling in Global Ranking

Earlier this year, a video from an Indian travel influencer expressing frustration over India's weak passport gained massive traction on social media.

The influencer stated although nearby nations such as Sri Lanka and Bhutan offered easier access of travelers from India, securing travel permits for visiting many nations in Europe and the West continued to be difficult.

Such concerns regarding the limited global access of Indian passports found confirmation in recent Henley Passport Index, ranking the country at position eighty-five out of nearly two hundred nations, a decline of five positions compared to the previous year.

The Indian government has not commented on the report so far.

Nations including Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan with much smaller economies than India – a nation that is the fifth-largest economy globally – are ranked higher in the ranking at the 78th, 74th and 72nd spots, respectively.

In fact, India's rank in the past decade has remained around the eighties, falling to ninetieth place two years ago. Such standings are dismal when measured against Asian nations like Japan, South Korea and Singapore, which have consistently held top positions.

Global Passport Power Measures

Passport strength indicates a country's global influence and international standing. It also translates into better mobility for its citizens, improving commercial and educational prospects. Limited passport power means more paperwork, increased visa expenses, fewer travel privileges and longer waiting times for travel.

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

For example, in 2014 – the year the current administration's ruling party assumed office – 52 countries offered visa-free access for Indian passport holders with the passport ranked 76th on the index.

The following year, it fell to the 85th position, then improved to 80th in 2023 and 2024, declining once more to the eighty-fifth spot currently. At the same time, visa-free destinations 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 in 2015 (52), yet India's rank during both periods is 85. So, why is that?

Experts say that a major reason is the increasingly competitive landscape in global mobility – meaning nations are forming more travel partnerships for their populations' advantage and economic growth. As per recent analysis, the worldwide mean number of destinations people can visit visa-free has nearly doubled from 58 in 2006 to 109 in 2025.

For example, China has expanded its count of visa-free countries its citizens can travel to from 50 to 82 in the past decade. Consequently, its rank in the ranking has enhanced from 94th to 60th in that same duration.

In comparison, 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

An ex-diplomat from India says multiple elements that affect the strength of a country's passport, like its economic and political stability plus its receptiveness to welcoming citizens from abroad.

For instance, the US passport has fallen of the top 10 currently holding the 12th position – a historic low – because of its increasingly insular stance in global affairs.

The former ambassador recalls that during the seventies, Indians enjoyed 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 the country's reputation as a stable democracy.

"Many countries are also becoming more cautious of immigrants," he stated. "The country possesses a large quantity of people migrating to other countries or overstaying their visas and that interferes with the country's reputation."

Factors like the security level of a national passport and its immigration procedures also play a role in gaining visa-free access to foreign nations.

Enhanced Security Measures

The Indian passport remains vulnerable to security threats. In 2024, law enforcement arrested over two hundred individuals for alleged visa and passport fraud. India is also known for complex immigration processes with lengthy timelines of visa processing.

The diplomat indicated that technological advances, like India's recently-launched electronic passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and streamline immigration. The e-passport contains a microchip that stores biometric data, increasing difficulty to counterfeit or alter the passport.

But, increased diplomatic efforts and travel agreements remain key to boosting the global mobility of Indians and, by extension, the Indian passport's global position.